Afterpurple
by nejitenteji10sasu10
Summary: A new member in the Stone family, the perfect island, new friends, more weddings, more Pokemon, more chaos, more revenge... and of course, more Sam and Gary. Sequel to Just Being Purple. Please read that before this one... GaryxOC
1. Chapter 1

"ZOEY STONE!"

Sam, now twenty, her long black hair just down to her mid-back (she had decided to keep it semi long, instead of shoulder-length), and her eyes as purple as ever, practically blew her top that afternoon.

Steven and Phoebe were out attending an Elite Four party, leaving Sam in charge… and watching her three year old niece, Zoey. "Steven, you idiot, giving her a Beldum she can ride on isn't exactly great for the babysitter…" she muttered under her breath.

"Bye, Sa-sa!"

Sam narrowed her eyes at the little demon – cute little demon, who seemed to have inherited Phoebe's hair, Steven's eyes, and Phoebe's spirit – as Zoey waved at her from waaaaaaay across the hall. "Zoey, you tell Beldum to come back here!" she yelled.

"No! Fun!" Zoey complained, petting the Beldum on the head. "Beldoo fast!"

Beldoo, was the Pokemon's nickname, since it was the only way she could pronounce 'Beldum'. "Yeah, but you have to take a bath now, Zo," Sam said patiently. "And maybe if we finish early, I'll let you ride on Beldoo after that."

Zoey sighed. Zoey knew that Sam was to be respected. In her three-year-old mind, the people that were to be respected were… mama, dada, Sa-sa, and Gayee. (Gary) Sometimes, when Sa-sa's friends were over, she had to respect them, too. They were May-may (Mason), Ambee (Amber), Taz (Topaz), Jay (James), and Skee (Skye). And sometimes, there was Wawa (Wallace) and Nona (Winona)

Sam smiled at her niece as Beldoo floated closer, and she carried the adorable toddler down from her Beldum. Zoey had black, raven black ringlets of hair that were starting to grow long, like her mother's. Her eyes were huge and gray, and her complexion was like Steven's – kind of pale.

After Sam gave Zoey a bath, it was past three in the afternoon, but Sam kept her promise and let the two loose in the front yard. Sam agreed to let Beldum and her newly-caught Staravia have a race around the yard. Beldum was fast – for a Beldum, of course.

Sam let out her Staravia and Zoey's Beldum. "Me ride Stawee!" Zoey said, tottering towards Beldoo.

"No, no, no, no, no," Sam said quickly, and swooped down to wrap her arms around Zoey. "Beldoo and Staravia are going to race, and they'll be going too fast. You might fall off, Zo."

"Stawee (Staravia) won't fall me."

"Yes, she will," Sam ignored the annoyed look on her Staravia's face and on Zoey's face (Zoey looked so much like Steven when she did that) and firmly grabbed Zoey so she could carry her.

She walked over to the benches that Steven had placed in the backyard, and sat a very grumpy and temper-tantrum prone Zoey down next to her. "Who do you think'll win?" Sam asked.

"Beldoo."

Sam made a face. "Beldum's slow, Zo."

"Beldoo fast!"

"Staravia's faster."

"Beldoo fast!" Zoey insisted. Sam laughed, and turned to the two Pokemon, who were ready to race.

"Alright, guys. Just one lap around the backyard. Star, this could boost up your Quick Attack and your speed, alright?" Staravia nodded. "Ready…"

"GAYEEEEE!" Zoey squealed. Sam turned her head and saw Gary, (now twenty-one and older looking and mature) approaching the house. He smiled at them, and Zoey leaped off the bench and ran towards Gary, arms stretched out. He caught her with ease, and lifted her up so he could twirl her around.

"How's the little princess?" Gary cooed.

Sam walked up to him and smiled. "I thought you were in Mossdeep," she accused him.

"Mossdeep's just one Fly away from Lilycove, and I had to see you two," Gary smiled, and still carrying Zoey, bent down to kiss Sam gently on the lips.

"Gayee have present?"

"Hmmm." Gary pretended to think. "Nope, don't have one. But you can ride on Flygon today, if you want to."

"Gary!" Sam scolded. "I just told her she couldn't ride on Star, and now you think I'll let her ride your Flygon?"

"Me ride Flyfly (Flygon)!" Zoey said happily.

Sam gave Gary a classic 'now-look-what-you've-done' look. He shrugged. "I won't even let Flygon go more than two feet off the ground."

"Two?"

"Fine, one." He gave Sam an amused smile. "You're such a _mom_."

Sam stuck her tongue out at him. "Seeing as her mother dear isn't here at the moment, I have to act like one."

"Sure, sure. Hey, come on out, Flygon! Oh, and I _did _get her a little present. Something she can play with."

"Gary, please tell me you got her something that's probably an inanimate object…"

"Actually, I didn't get her something like that. Where's the fun in that?" Gary asked, grinning mischievously as the look on Sam's face became _priceless_.

Flygon, Staravia and Beldum had little Pokemon conversations with each other, chortling occasionally. Zoey raised her eyebrows at the sound of the words 'little present', and clapped her hands joyfully. "Gayee have present!"

"Yup," Gary said. "Lemme put you down, though, so I can get it." He gently put Zoey on the floor, and caught Sam's eyes. She had her arms crossed, eyes narrowed. "Oh, Sam. She'll be happy with this present. I promise."

Sam relaxed and smiled gently at Gary. Then she realized something. "Gary. You didn't get her a Charizard, did you? Or an Ursaring? Or a Gyarados? Or a Sharpedo? Or a – "

"Relax, sweetie," Gary said patiently. "I got her a Pokemon fit for a kid. I wouldn't give her something like a Gyarados. A Gyarados. For a two-year-old. I'm not ignorant, Sam." He laughed.

"Sorry for not having trust in you," Sam said, sighing. Gary grinned.

"I brought her one Pokemon that she can have, and a whole bunch of Pokemon playmates." He pursed his lips. "All in all, she can play with about seven Pokemon, a whole team."

"Seven? I thought you could only bring six with you," Sam said, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, you see, Zoey already has Beldum. That's one. I rode on Flygon going here, not exactly counted as my team. I pull the strings a little bit, there's no harm in that. Besides, I'll be one Pokemon less when I leave, and I'll have exactly six in my belt." 

"You've thought this out."

"Oh, yes."

"Just bring out her little playmates, will you?" Sam rolled her eyes. Gary's eyes twinkled at the familiarity of the gesture.

"Alright… Budew, Tediursa, Igglybuff, Zigzagoon, Pichu, and Vulpix, come on out!"

Sam watched as six, utterly cute and fluffy and kid-safe Pokemon got out from Gary's Pokeballs. She watched Gary practically beam at them. "Where in the world did you get all of these adorable babies?" Sam asked, picking up the Budew and admiring it.

"I caught them all. I have a whole bunch of other kid-safe Pokemon for Zoey here, but I could only bring six. I'll bring more, if Steven agrees to breed and take care of all of them while I'm gone."

"If Steven agrees to breed and take care of the Pokemon, that'll mean it'll be _me _taking care of them." Sam decided to ponder a bit, and remembered her days when she worked part time in the Daycare center. "I'd love it!" she exclaimed. "Heck, you can leave _all _of them here!"

"Knew you'd love the idea," Gary said. "Alright, Zo, let me introduce you to these new friends of yours." Zoey, suddenly shy, toddled over behind Gary's legs, and peeked out to look at them. "This one's Budew. She's a grass Pokemon, and she'll be really pretty when she evolves. The little bear over there, that's Tediursa. Next is Igglybuff, then Zigzagoon, and Pichu, then Vulpix!"

Zoey went closer to Budew. "Boo," she said, naming it (or just pronouncing their names in the only way she could). "Tessa, Iggy, Zoon, Pich (pronounced 'peach'), Pixie?"

"Yeah, that's right," Gary said happily. "Pich is yours, Zo, your gift from me."

"Oooooh." Zoey studied the Pokemon, a quiet silence between them. She rose one of her hands so she could wave at them. "Hi."

The Pokemon beamed at her, and Zoey giggled joyfully. Star, Flygon, and Beldoo had neared the group, and Zoey pointed to each one of her new friends and introduced them. "Boo, Tessa, Iggy, Zoon, Pich, Pixie." She looked at the three older Pokemon and introduced them to the smaller Pokemon. "Flyfly, Stawee, Beldoo."

"Oh, that's so cute!" Sam smiled. "Zo, you go play with them." Zoey, however wasn't listening to Sam; instead, she was busy shaking hands with Tediursa. "Star, Flygon, you watch out for the babies!" As the older Pokemon nodded, Sam reached for Gary's hand and squeezed it. "You're spoiling her."

"I do it with good reason. I can't help but spoil her. Who wouldn't? She's the most adorable two year old I've met. And, not to mention, her aunt is also my girlfriend, who I love and adore even more than myself." Gary smiled slyly at her.

She smiled back at him. For the past three years, everything had been heaven for her. She and Gary were just comfortable in their own little world, unconcerned about MARGE… or the Legendaries. Sam and Gary had also been journeying around the regions; Sam was trying to get all her badges, and succeeded.

"You know what today is?" Gary asked suddenly.

"Uh. Thursday, why?"

"You're right, it's a Thursday, but today, it's been three years since you've lost your Spirit Sage."

Sam was quiet. "You are one of the few boys who can actually remember dates like girls can." He nudged her playfully in the ribs, and laughed.

"It was important for me, though…"

"Important in what way?" Sam asked.

"Well… that day… I just realized that I was willing to sacrifice everything for you." He placed a finger under her chin, and tilted her head up. "And that was also the day I officially stopped worrying about imbeciles like Maxie ruining our relationship."

Sam smiled easily at him, and watched Sam playing with tag with all the Pokemon, Staravia and Flygon facilitating. "You're right. But… something worries me."

"Hm? What would that be?"

"Skye."

Gary was silent for the moment. Skye was the new Spirit Sage; how could he have forgotten? What was probably worrying Sam was that Skye hadn't been in touch with any previous Spirit Sage… besides Sam.

"Everything boils down to the fact that sooner or later, he's gonna suffer the same way I did. Only… he probably won't be able to let go of the Spirit." Sam looked down at the ground. "And I did that to him."

"Sam, we agreed, among the group, plus your brother and Phoebe and Wallace and Winona, that it wasn't your fault." He squeezed her hand. "And you yourself explained to us that it could have entered any one of us." Sam opened her mouth to say something, but Gary cut her off by pressing a finger to her mouth. "And, in the first place, did you _ask _to become the Spirit Sage? No. So, in the end, like we've explained to you again and again," he sighed, exasperated, but smiled at her with the smile she loved, "It isn't your fault, Samantha Stone."

She smiled up at him, then stood up on her tip-toes to kiss him on the lips. "You always make me feel better."

"SAM!"

Sam winced, and rolled her eyes at the voice. "Steven Stone, will I _ever_ get any private time with you around?" she muttered under her breath, and turned around crossly. Steven and Phoebe were crossing the lawn, accompanied by a girl who looked about Sam's age, and strangely familiar. "You're home early."

Steven crossed his arms. "I had a feeling that my baby was in danger!" Steven said, bending down amongst the zoo of animals to pick up Zoey. "How can you just make out with Gary while my baby and your first and only niece gets attacked by wild Pokemon?"

"First of all, Steven," Sam said, narrowing her eyes and stepping away from Gary. "I am _not _making out with Gary, I am kissing him. Before you counter _that_, kissing is _not _making out, it's just, plain kissing. Secondly, those Pokemon I'm sure you're about to obliterate aren't _wild_, they're Pokemon that Gary brought for Sam to play with, and the Pichu is _hers_."

Steven rose an eyebrow in Gary's direction. "You gave her a Pokemon?"

Gary shrugged. "Ash's Pikachu and some other Pikachu mated, and when the egg hatched, Ash thought he could give it to Dawn, but she said no – and he asked me if I wanted the Pichu. I thought Zoey would love it, and she does."

Steven looked at his daughter, who was strangely silent. "So… you like electric Pokemon, do you?" Zoey beamed at him.

"Pich _mine_, she lellow (yellow) and cute."

"Okay, okay," Steven said hastily, smiling at Zoey. "Fine, baby Z, you can have her."

"Yaaaaaaay!"

"And the others?" Steven looked pointedly at the other small and adorable Pokemon, gathering around his legs.

"Well, Steven… I was thinking…" Sam sounded perfectly angelic now, "Zoey would love a life surrounded by Pokemon, and if I started a day care here, it'd just be perfect for her environment, and she'll grow up to love Pokemon as much as I do."

"So… you're going to stay inside all day… watching Pokemon that aren't yours… and have them run free in the yard?"

"Yup." Sam said. "Oh, please, Steven? Can I? You know I'll take good care of them all," Sam said, sounding more like a fourteen-year-old begging for a bunch of Growlithe, "And I grew up taking care of the Pokemon in the day care center in Verdanturf, so I have an idea on what to do," she said. "Pleeeeeease? It'll be like my job for the rest of my life!"

"Wait a second, wait a second…" the girl who looked familiar to Sam held up her hand to stop Steven from talking. "Are you Sam Garret?"

"Er, well, I was, before. That was my foster family I was living with… but how did you know?" Sam looked closely at the girl, and tried to remember where in the world had she seen her. The girl was about Sam's height, had wavy hair that was a shocking red, not orange red, but red-red that was down to her waist and had unusually bright blue eyes. She was wearing a white tank top underneath her red jean jacket whose sleeves were between her wrist and her elbow, and for her pants, she wore white slacks and black flats for her shoes. That was when she remembered. "Erin Hunter!" Sam shrieked and went over to Erin to give her a hug.

Erin laughed. "It's been a long time since I've seen you, Sam…"

"Yeah!" Sam looked closely at her old friend. "You're so pretty now!"

"Well, it's _you_ who has the boyfriend, not me," she chuckled. "Anyway, what _are _you doing here, Sam Garret?"

"Actually…" Sam smiled sheepishly at Erin. "It's Sam Stone."

"Stone?" Erin gaped at Sam, then Steven. That's when she suddenly made the connection, and noticed the slight similarities. "Oh, so you're Steven's little sister! He was telling me that he had a little sis that was my age, and I didn't think it was you!"

Sam turned to Gary, and Steven and Phoebe, all of the three who were looking a little confused. "Erin and I grew up together, actually she lived in Mauville while I worked in Grandpa's daycare center. She used to come help me all the time with work, or left a few Pokemon around, just to help with the business." She smiled warmly at Erin. "I remember you used to have a favorite among your Pokemon… was that a Charmander?"

"Well, Chari is a Charizard now, and yeah. She's kind of my favorite, my baby." Erin grinned. "Before you ask what I'm doing here, though, I think you should ask Steven."

Sam looked questioningly at Steven. "Erin's replacing Drake on the Elite Four."

"What? Oh, did something terrible happen?" Sam asked, concerned for the fatherly figure of the Elite Four.

"He's just retiring," Steven assured her. "It was actually supposed to be Mason to take Drake's place, but he didn't want the position, so… next in line is Erin. She won the Hoenn League." He smiled at Erin. "I've never seen such wonderful tactics."

"Well, I guess she combines her contest skills with her battling skills, right?" Steven nodded at Sam's guess, and she grinned. "Erin's really good at both. I used to be so jealous of her when she stopped by…"

"But now I'm just a humble boarder in your house," Erin said. "Steven's lending me a room while they get things settled up in the Elite Four, and he wanted me to battle against him, anyway." She shrugged. "So, anyway, what's the dirt on your boyfriend?"

"Erin!" Sam blushed furiously.

"So you're denying that he's your boyfriend?" Erin grinned wickedly.

"No!" Sam said. She let out a huge breath, annoyed, but still happy at her reunion with Erin. "I…" she laughed a little, and looked up at Gary. "I love this guy. I love him so much that my heart could just explode with my feelings for him."

"It's more than that, isn't it?" Sam looked in surprise at Erin, who was looking at her with a sudden wisdom in her eyes. "I know about your Spirit Sage story, Sam… and I believe there's more."

"You're right," Sam said. She walked towards Erin again, and hooked her arm in the red-heads, and the two started talking. Steven smiled at the two, and gestured to Phoebe and Gary.

"Let's leave those two alone for a while." Steven carried Zoey into the house, and looked displeased when all little Pokemon started a parade following them. He ignored them. Once they were inside, he set Zoey down, and she toddled over to her playmates.

"So… how did the meeting go?" Gary asked, sitting in one of the comfy chairs in the Stone household.

"Boring agenda," Phoebe commented. "Except for when they introduced Erin to the whole Elite Four's and the gym leaders." She grinned evilly. "Roarke _loved _her," she said smugly.

Steven laughed. "Erin didn't seem to care though. Anyways, we talked about the new fourth member of the Elite Four in Hoenn, and a few other things, like rotation of gyms and such… but that rarely happens. You're right, love, it was pretty boring."

"Any interesting agenda?" Gary asked.

Steven and Phoebe were silent, so of course, Gary knew that there _was _something interesting on the agenda. "Well… we talked about Sam and Skye."

Gary was silent. "What about?"

"Skye's safety. They don't want what happened to Sam happen to Skye. Once was just too much for them." Phoebe sighed, and slumped down into a chair next to Steven. "We debated for like… three hours on that subject."

"Did you come up with a conclusion?" Gary asked.

"You're not going to like it," Steven told Gary. Gary narrowed his eyes. Steven sighed. "They're thinking of sending Skye somewhere else faraway for him to master his Spirit just in case the same thing happens."

"Why did you say I wouldn't like it?"

"Sam's going to go with him." Phoebe waited tentatively for Gary's reaction. Gary was surprisingly calm, and silent, when Phoebe realized he was waiting for them to say that he was coming too. "Alone."

"Why?" Gary asked. "I'm just as good of a bodyguard as any other person! Why _can't _I go with her?"

"Sam has to concentrate on teaching Skye the right way to use his powers. They don't think that's gonna happen if you're there," Phoebe said gently. "At least, if it makes you feel better, a whole lot of other gym leaders and members of the Elite Four voted against it and wanted you there – including Steven and I."

"Why should it make me feel better if it isn't actually gonna happen? I thought Steven was a good teacher," Gary said accusingly in Steven's direction.

He held his hands up, as if surrendering. "I told them, I told them I could teach Skye. I even had a reasonable argument about that. I told them that Sam wasn't even able to control a Spirit Sage, and she wasn't the proper teacher, and that I could properly teach him."

Gary waited for Steven to continue.

"And… they said that a proper teacher has to have proper experience."

"Who is 'they', exactly?" Gary asked, raising an eyebrow.

Steven hesitated for a second. "Agatha seems to be heading that group. Under her are Falkner, Clair, Koga, and the more serious leaders and Elite Four members. The ones who are all for me to go are the younger ones, headed by me, and Phoebe, Flannery, Roxanne, and Misty spoke out against Sam's teaching Skye."

Phoebe sighed, and looked at Gary. "Agatha and the others don't have anything personal against you, Steven, or Sam. It's just that they really, truly think that Sam can help Skye. They think it's the best solution, and we can't do anything about that, Gary…" she leaned back in her chair, and looked truly sorry.

"Erin voiced out a big subject about that though, and she made sense. She said that having two Spirit Sage's in one place was bound attract the attention of friend and foe, so they needed protection, which would be in the form of you, Gary." Steven nodded towards Gary. "Unfortunately, they countered _that _by pointing out that Skye could call on any Legendary Pokemon he pleases."

"Idiots," Gary grumbled under his breath. "Him? And Sam? Alone? For how long?"

"A couple weeks, months…" Steven shrugged, knowing he was treading on dangerous ground – where there was sure to be a Gary Oak tantrum coming up. "But it all depends if Skye's a fast learner."

"He better be," Gary growled.

Phoebe smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, Gary. Skye knows that Sam's off-limits. He's not the same person as before."

"All the same, I wish he'd get a girlfriend."

(-)

Erin sighed happily as she and Sam sat outside on the grass, which had a perfect view of the ocean. "You are so lucky, Sam!"

"Yeah…" Sam smiled. "I guess I am. Gary's a really nice guy. And he's everything I could ask for. It's like… he was made for me."

"Oh, that's true love alright," Erin teased, poking Sam in the ribs.

"Well, what about you?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow at her friend. She watched as the laughter in Erin's eyes slowly faded.

"Actually… I don't… I don't have the time for things like that," Erin said stiffly.

"Oh, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Sam said hastily, knowing she had hit a spot. "I'm sorry."

"You didn't know," Erin said, smiling. "Really… it's okay."

The two were silent for a while, the kind of silence that was comfortable between two close friends. "Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"Gary… he's… he's everything to you… isn't he?"

Sam, surprised at the sudden question, looked at Erin. "Well. Yeah." She smiled as she said it.

"What if you lost him?" Sam looked at Erin, and saw the saddest expression she had ever seen on her friends face. "What would you have done?"

"If… I lost him?" Sam was a little confused. "Well, I… I'd never get over it," Sam admitted. "I lost him once; remember that. I lost him for three years, and I almost lost him three years ago. It was like… I had ripped out my heart." Sam closed her eyes, remembering the exact feeling. "It was like I was leaving, but I left everything important to me behind. Everything that mattered to me… was gone."

"I know exactly how you feel," Erin said, quietly. "The pain… the heartbreak… the sadness… it hurts… doesn't it?"

"Erin," Sam said, concerned. "Do you need to talk to me about something?"

Erin shook her head quickly. "Sam, I'm really sorry. I'm not… ready… to talk about it yet. Really."

Sam nodded slowly, wondering what on earth could've happened to her friend.

(-)

_Flap… Flap… Flap… _

Altaria and Skye were flying high above the city of Fortree now, a backpack clutched in Altaria's talons, and a light blue sling bag worn by Skye. "Almost there, Altaria," Skye said. "I wonder what's it gonna be like… spending all that time with Sam…" he mused. "No, she's with Gary," he reminded himself. "Besides, she's almost like a little sister to me, now," he said, trying to reassure himself.

Beneath him, Altaria rolled her eyes. Her master had been on a few dates, but none of them lasted enough for the second date. And she also knew that the only person who had actually he had actually shown an interest in (besides Amber, of course) was Sam.

"I know what you're thinking, Altaria," Skye said begrudgingly. "But, it's more of a little sister love or something! Not… not… crush-crush love, you know?"

Altaria snorted.

(-)

Erin and Sam were getting close to the house when a large shape blocked the sun from behind their backs. Shocked, both of them turned around and saw Skye and Altaria about to land. "Skye!" Sam smiled hugely and waved at him, knowing he would see her.

"Skye…?" Erin asked, more to herself then to Sam. "The current Spirit Sage?"

"Yeah," Sam said. "He drops by every so often, it's almost like he's another brother," she continued, continuing to look up at Skye and Altaria.

Altaria landed a few feet away from Sam, and Skye leaped off Altaria. "Hey, Sam!" He held his hand up in a greeting. "Just some news: James just won the Grand Festival in Kanto," he smirked. "Topaz wasn't kidding when she said that James was an awesome coordinator." He returned the quick hug that Sam offered.

That's when he saw Erin, standing behind Sam, curiosity glinting in beautiful blue eyes that contrasted against her fiery red hair in a good way. He stepped away from Sam, and looked at her for a long time. Then he smiled, uncertainly, and said, "Hey."

"Oh!" Sam grinned. "Skye, this is-" she stopped suddenly when she saw the look in Skye's face. Her grin quickly turned into a smug look. _Love at first sight isn't exactly a cliché anymore…_

"I'm Erin Hunter," Erin smiled at him, and he noticed the dimple in her right cheek, and the whiteness of her teeth. "I'm the new addition to the Hoenn Elite Four."

Skye wordlessly held out his hand. "Skye. Storne. I'm… the new addition to the generations of Spirit Sages," he said lamely, but was relieved when she grasped his hand and laughed.

Sam, on the other hand, had disappeared into the house.

Erin sighed a bit at Sam's departure, but made no move to walk away from Skye. "I've heard a lot about you," she said, continuing the conversation. Skye's hand dropped, and he looked at her, curious. "You've played a big part in rescuing Sam… and from what I heard, you also helped to her downfall in the earlier parts…"

"I was blind," was all Skye could say, and it was true. Erin looked at him for a long time, and was convinced. She smiled up at him.

"You're a really nice guy," she blurted out, and turned a little pink with embarrassment. "Wait – what I meant was that, you… er…"

He laughed, and this time it was Erin who noticed something – the way he laughed made her feel a little light. "Let's look for Sam and the others, alright?"

(-)

Sam happily leaped into the seat next to Gary, and the latter wrapped an arm around her. "Where's Erin?" Phoebe asked. "Did she leave to do something?"

"Actually, she's…" Sam smirked. "Talking with someone who fell for her the first time he saw her."

"Ooh, who?" Steven asked. Sam giggled. Her brother was such a matchmaker sometimes.

"Skye."

"Oh, so he's here," Gary said, in an offhanded tone. But Sam heard everything she needed to hear in those four words.

"Here we go again with the jealousy," Sam said in a sing-song voice. But she smiled reassuringly and kissed his cheek. "Don't worry, Gary, I'm always yours."

Gary smiled at that, but looked at Steven. "Tell her?"

"Fine, I'll do it, though." Steven said. "Sam, your services are needed."

"Huh?" her eyebrows furrowed together in thought. "What are you talking about?"

"As you already know, Skye is the new Spirit Sage." Sam rose her eye and nodded slowly. "And, just like what happened in your case, we don't want a near-death scenario to happen."

"Who is 'we'?" Sam asked, making air-quotations.

"All Gym Leaders and members of the Elite Four in all regions." Steven waited for Sam to nod, and when she did, he continued. "We want you to teach Skye how to control his powers."

"WHAT?" Sam threw her arms up. "I couldn't even control it when I had my powers, and now you want me to teach Skye? He's as good as DEAD if I teach him!"

"See?" Gary said. "She doesn't even want to teach him!"

Steven sighed. "But Sam…"

"No!" Sam said firmly. "I'm not going to do it! I'm not going to each him the wrong thing! You can tell the other Gym Leaders to just stick that suggestion up their-"

"It's already decided," Steven said testily. "You're so hard-headed."

"Well, I must get it from you, then," Sam snapped back.

"Sam…" Phoebe said gently. "Steven and I and other gym leaders and members of the Elite Four really wanted Steven to be the one to teach Skye. We were just… outnumbered."

"Well, this sucks," Sam said. "Does Gary get to come, too?"

"Er…" Sam looked at Steven, and saw the answer in his eyes.

"Great. Just great. Sticking me and Skye on some random island alone, with no one else, is just the worst idea I've ever had." Suddenly, she narrowed her eyes. "Steven?"

"Hm?"

"When am I leaving?"

Steven blinked. "Uh…"

"Steven, when. Am. I. Leaving?"

Steven couldn't answer.

"I'm leaving today, aren't I?" she screeched. "That's why Skye's here, right?" she scowled at Steven. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I was waiting for the right time to tell you," Steven protested.

"Oh, so when was the right time?" Sam mocked. "When we're about to board the plane or something?"

"Sam," Steven said, voice stern. "Even though I'm not your father, I'm technically in charge of you and-" he was stopped by the smug look on Sam's face. As he had known her for a while, he knew that that had to mean trouble. "What's with the face?"

"You can't _make _me."

"What are you talking about, of course I can!"

"I'm twenty years old, Steven…" Sam said, smirking. "Technically, I'm a full grown adult that can make her own decisions."

Steven rose his eyebrows. "You're right."

"Annnnnd… I choose not to go," Sam said, crossing her arms over her chest, smiling smugly.

"Well, Sam, wouldn't you want to help Skye?" Phoebe said gently. "He is your friend, after all…"

Sam was silent, trying to think of something that would twist this situation into something in her favor… and she got it.

Steven watched her smile grow wider and wider.

"Do you know who else is above the age of eighteen?" Sam asked him. "Gary, Mason, James, Topaz, Amber… and I want Erin to come along, too."

"Sam…" Steven rubbed his temples. "Even though you're legally an adult, you still give me the same migraine you'd give me when you were fourteen."

"What's she talking about?" Erin's face popped in the door, still as cheerful as ever. "A trip? I wanna go, I wanna go! Oh, it's the one where she has to train Skye? We can go? YAY!"

"Why…" Sam said, looking strangely at her friend, "Do you seem so perky today?"

Erin practically bounced over to Sam, and whispered in her ear. "Skye's a really nice guy, Sam," she giggled. "Are you sure he's single?"

"Single as Zoey is, Erin!" Sam exclaimed, happy for her friend – and Skye. "And you get to spend a heck of a lot of time with him if you go!"

"I'm in," Erin said immediately.

"Oh, boy…" Steven muttered. He turned to Gary. "I don't have to ask you if you want to go to, hm?"

(-)

Of course, Topaz, James, Amber and Mason said 'yes' right off the bat, and when Agatha heard about their plans, she knew they were right and she was outnumbered.

Sam was ecstatic as she packed her things.

(-)

**KAT IS BACK! :D and with the sequel to Just Being Purple! Oh, I never thought I'd be typing this into my computer, but here I am! Wheee!**

**Anyways, for any new readers out there who are reading the sequel without reading Just Being Purple first, you'll either have to read it, or go on through the story without understanding what half of it actually means.**

**And if I even try to make a five-sentence paragraph just to summarize Just Being Purple right now, you all will just end up being CONFUSED.**

**And I made Ash's Pikachu mate another Pikachu! :D if you didn't notice, I specifically didn't tell who was the boy or who was the girl.**

**Is Pikachu a boy or a girl?**

**Anyways, I'd just like to announce something:**

**NOT ACCEPTING ANY MORE OC'S. Some of you guys submitted OC's for me that I told you would be in the sequel. And I'm keeping my word on that. Then I just realized that… whoa. That's a lot of extra characters.**

**I would like to thank one of my dearest friends, a girl who I call my ANIKI, because she posted the last two chapters and the Epilogue for me when I couldn't. LOVE HER TO BITS. (lamatz, aniki!) she was my classmate in my second year of high school. Just sharing… ;)**

**So… (I missed doing this, believe me)**

**Ja~**


	2. Chapter 2

"TOPAZ! AMBER! JAMES! MASON!" Sam squealed out as the said four stepped down from a Fearrow and a Salamance (Mason's) on Steven's lawn.

Watching them from the doorway, Steven grumbled, "Who made my lawn a landing pad?"

"Don't be such a grouch, Stevie…" Phoebe said, shaking her head, exasperated. "You should be happy that Sam's happy; and she's agreeing to help Skye! See, it all works out."

"Yeah, but now I'm stuck with all of Z's playmates," Steven said, pointing a hand towards the group of little Pokemon. They looked back at him innocently.

As Sam rushed forward for a hug, she marvelled at how much everyone had changed.

Topaz, who used to be Ms. No-Emotions-Whatsoever, or the more quiet one, had had her once wavy hair straightened, and now it was all the way to her waist. She also showed much more happiness now. She was wearing a sleeveless black t-shirt, with a denim mini skirt. She beamed at Sam. "It's great to see you again! So, this is kind of like a mini-reunion, huh?"

James had changed a lot – considering the way he used to dress. From red shirt and blue shorts with shaggy brown hair, he went to a royal blue shirt, and black jeans. His brown hair had been cut short, but not short-short, just enough. And did we mention the little golden hoop in his right ear? He gave Sam a little squeeze. "Wow, Sam, you're all grown up," he teased.

"Well, just look at yourself!" Sam replied. She hadn't seen the entire gang for like a year. "You look like you just jumped out of some reality show that specializes in ultimate make overs or something!" she laughed.

Mason was considerably more cool than he had been the first time he had seen Sam. His hair was still the same, but his royal-blue eyes twinkled at her from behind wired rims. He was wearing a short sleeved gray shirt (that showed off some buffed-up biceps) and pants. He gave Sam a little salute, then hugged her. "Nice to see you again," Mason said, smiling at her.

Amber, still as sunny as ever, still had her hair done in waves. She was wearing a light pink t-shirt, jeans, and her hair in long wavy pigtails. Still preppy; still Amber. She grinned at Sam and hugged her tightly. "I missed you so much!"

Sam smiled at 'the old gang', and turned to Erin, who was next to her. "Guys, this is Erin Hunter. She's gonna be the new member of the Elite Four. We've been friends since I was like, twelve, and she's coming along for the trip." She watched as everyone seemed to radiate friendship towards Erin, and she was happy about that. She leaned in closer to Topaz and Amber. "Bonus point: she's also the potential match for a certain Skylar Storne," she whispered.

Amber grinned. "Finally. I like her," she said, smiling. "And she seems genuine enough. I've wanted Skye to find happiness for a while."

"Ditto," Topaz replied. "How are things with Gary, anyway?"

"Still same old, same old. He's sweet, funny, and still arrogant at the same time." Sam laughed. "The Gary I love."

Gary and Skye had stepped out of the house and were greeting the guys, too. Topaz and Amber also gave their friendly hugs to Skye and Gary.

"Looks like we'll be going on this super-long vacation!" Amber grinned, wrapping her arms around Sam and Topaz's shoulders. "Think of this: it'll be like we're stuck on this paradise island reality show."

"Or…" Topaz said thoughtfully. "It could kinda be like Survivor."

"Is it just me, or is everybody talking about reality shows now?" Mason asked.

"Besides, guys…" Skye sighed. "I kinda think that what Amber's saying is what's gonna go closest to what we'll be experiencing."

"A paradise island?" Erin asked. "Really?"

"Well, I kind of overheard where they were supposed to house me and Sam. And it's like on an island named… Palm Tree Island." **(A/N: Totally fictional. This doesn't exist in real life. And when you find out what's on this island, you'll want to wish it was real. I hope.) **

James looked incredulous. "Not Palm Tree Island. That's… that's a private island owned by… someone I don't know."

Skye had a wry smile on his face. "Well… it seems like Agatha owns that island."

"No."

"Way." Amber and Topaz gaped at Skye.

"Agatha owns an island?" Sam exclaimed. "Does she really have time to go there or anything?"

"She uses it for a training ground," Skye explained. "And thought that it'd be functional for us…" he looked around at the group. "Eight."

"This is the kind of vacation I've been dreaming about since I was twelve," Amber said, eyes sparkling. "A paradise island? This is gonna rule!"

"You guys get to relax," Sam said, sighing. "I have to teach Skye how to control the Spirit Sage. I don't even know how to do that."

"You can do it," Gary reassured her, squeezing her shoulder.

(-)

_My dad._

_You guys ruined my dad and everything he worked for._

_I won't forgive you for that._

_Ever._

A shadowy figure in a room clenched its fist as it looked at the video screen, watching as everyone mingled.

(-)

"Right." Steven looked at the eight youth who would be going to Palm Tree island while he got to stay here watching all of Zoey's baby Pokemon team. Figures. "So you're taking Sidney's jet plane to the… why are you all looking at me like that?"

"Sidney has a jetplane?" Sam asked incredulously. "Is it just me or are you guys so rich?"

"We have excellent pay," Steven said with a secret smile.

"You're so lucky," Amber whispered to Erin.

"Anyway, like I was saying, you'll be taking Sidney's jet plane to the island. You'll reach Palm Tree island in about five hours. Yes, it's that far away, and you're not coming back until Skye's under control."

"Skye?" Topaz asked sweetly.

"Hm?"

"Could you _not _learn how to control the Spirit Sage?"

(-)

"This rocks," James said in awe. The jet plane was private. It landed on Steven's lawn, all long and sparkly white and shiny, with two butlers inside and unlimited drinks and food and comfortable chairs.

"Can we just live on the jet plane?" Erin asked, eyes practically turning into stars.

Mason tsked at all of them. "All of you are blinded by riches, and money and private jets and islands and-" his eyes turned as wide as saucers. "Is that the new Playstation Seven and the new version of Wii: the Next Wii Generation?" He dove towards the game stations, almost drooling.

"Mason! How is that showing any dignity to us men?" Skye asked.

"I," Topaz smiled. "Am going to sit here reading all the new books they stocked here."

"The view is awesome," Erin said, perching herself on a window seat (that literally _faced the window_), sipping a can of Sprite.

"No… kidding," James said excitedly. "They have a battle arena here. On the jet. Can you get any cooler?"

"You. Me. Battle. Now," Skye grinned hugely at James.

"I get to battle the winner," Amber sang, as she followed them.

"Hey, Mason," Gary called out. "Are you playing Jak and Daxter 5?"

"Actually, it's number six."

"Whatever, can I play too?"

"Sure," Mason said. "The Wii version of JAD 6 is just awesome." He swung his remote a bit.

Sam smiled. Her friends (and boyfriend) were just so diverse in their likes and dislikes. It was what she absolutely loved about them, anyway.

The purple eyed young woman joined Topaz in the reading corner, dragging an orange beanbag chair along with her. Topaz looked at Sam over the top of her book, and she smiled. "Everyone knocking themselves out because of this thing?"

"Yeah," Sam said, smiling. "Gary and Mason are on the New Wii Generation thing, Erin's checking out the view, and James, Skye and Amber are checking out the battle arena."

"They have a battle arena here?" Topaz's eyes widened. "No way!"

"Better believe it," Sam said. "How have you guys been holding up, anyway?"

Topaz put her book to the side, and made her position more comfortable. "Well… James and I have one apartment each on the Orange Islands," she said. "It's actually a pretty good place to see and be seen. Amber's living somewhere in Goldenrod City. She has a part time job there as a teacher… Mason's settled in La Rousse. He's become a techno geek because of that place," Topaz smirked. "And just in case you were wondering, they pull off the long distance thing pretty well."

Sam sighed. "It's amazing, isn't it? I mean, we started off as seven teenagers who didn't know a thing, and now we can boast that we've each seen almost all species of legendary Pokemon, and have rode at least one."

"I never thought I'd be able to do that," Topaz said, sounding distracted.

"Me, either," Sam chuckled. "I didn't even think I'd save the world some day."

"I never thought I'd be helping," Topaz grinned.

(-)

"NO! NO! How did you _do _that? That's impossible! It's a cheat! It has to be a cheat!" Mason yowled as Gary pounded Mason's character into the dust in Street Fighter Five; the virtual reality version.

"It is a cheat," Gary said smugly. "Ha. I've won! And you have to do the consequence…" he drawled out.

"Ugh," Mason said bitterly.

"Guys! Wanna see Mason dance?" Gary called out.

Amber, James and Skye stepped out of the battle arena, a Ninetails and an Azumarill, Amber and Skye's, accordingly. "He's gonna dance?" Amber laughed.

Gary unrolled the Dance Dance Revolution mat and chose the song 'Barbie Girl'. Mason groaned. "Gary, this is a joke, right?"

(-)

"This is your pilot speaking, and I'd like to announce that we have landed safely in Palm Tree island."

The eight trainers stepped out of the jet, and saw the beautiful scenery, and the beach.

"Am I dead?" James asked.

"Excuse me?" Topaz rose her eyebrows.

"This is heaven."

"Bad joke, James," Topaz smirked.

"Guys!"

A familiar, cheery voice caught their attention, and out of a clump of trees came Wallace and Winona. Winona waved. "Hey! Haven't seen you guys since the wedding!"

"Winona!" Sam smiled. "Wallace, hey!"

"What are you guys doing here?" Gary asked.

"We're the adult supervision," Winona said, with a serious look on her face.

Everybody's faces blanched.

"I told Steven that we weren't kids anymore!" Sam growled underneath her breath.

"Chill, Sammie," Winona said, laughing. "I was just kidding. We're here on vacation. Most of the other Gym Leaders and Elite Four take vacations here. Agatha told us you'd be arriving and that we weren't allowed to disturb you guys or anything, but if you need someone to hang out with, I'm always free!"

"Awesome," Amber grinned. "I've missed you guys a whole bunch!"

"Same here," Wallace said, smiling.

"When's the wedding?" James asked evilly.

"James!" Topaz scolded.

"What?" James pointed at Winona's hand. "A silver band with twin rubies on it is not _just _a friendship ring."

"Ohmygosh, James is right!" Sam gasped.

Winona tsked. "And I was thinking of announcing it during dinner later. Oh well. Yeah, there's a wedding. Actually, it's here, on the island. And you're all invited."

"We're hosting a big dinner later tomorrow evening. Everyone on the island is coming. You should go, too." Wallace smiled. "But first, I have to congratulate the newest member of the Elite Four…"

Erin blushed modestly. "It isn't official yet, Wallace…" she protested weakly.

"All the same, you're a new member, and I haven't been able to congratulate you. As a matter of fact… I'd like to battle you." Wallace smiled.

"Oh, really?" Erin asked, eyes lighting up.

"But first, you might wanna settle in. The hotel is… oh, let me show you the way," Winona said, and started walking.

"Did she say hotel?" Amber whispered to Erin.

"I guess so," the redhead replied, grinning.

"I thought we'd be staying in grass huts, or sleeping under the stars," James quipped.

(-)

"This is the hotel, guys! Five-star restaurants, facilities, and much more!"

"Oh."

"My."

"God."

Amber, Topaz, and Erin's mouths hung open. "Can I live here?" Sam asked.

"Well, you will be living here," Winona said, smiling. "It's pretty awesome, isn't it?" The lobby was just something to look at. The glass chandelier that hung above them was probably as big as a Wailmer. The floors of the lobby were a polished marble; the walls were smooth and dark. And the ambience in the place just screamed 'WHOA'.

"This is just… over the top," Mason choked out.

"No, it isn't." Winona rolled her eyes. "Wait until you see the rooms. Agatha said that you guys would be sharing rooms… Erin and Sam, Gary and Skye, Mason and James, and Amber and Topaz. Your rooms will be side to side and connected via a little side door."

"Okay, good so far," James said slowly.

"Your rooms are… shall we say… personalized to fit your needs." An employee at the hotel, whose nametag read 'Alex', smiled at them. He was a bit tall, with threads of gray hair running through his brown hair. He had a slight British accent. "Welcome to the hotel. I'm an old friend of Agatha… and Winona's father."

The eight younger ones looked back and forth from Winona to Alex, trying to see a resemblance, and they saw one; in the eyes.

"Nice to meet you, sir," Mason said politely.

James rolled his eyes. "Suck-up," he whispered loud enough for Mason to hear.

"I've heard a lot about all of you," Alex said, eyes crinkling as he smiled. "Gary… Topaz… Amber… Mason… James… Skye… and of course, Ms. Stone," he said, nodding his head towards Sam. "And who hasn't heard of the remarkable Miss Hunter?" he gestured towards Erin. "She's superb at battles. You should watch one of hers."

"Actually, sir, we were planning on using the battle arena by the beach," Wallace said. "I want to battle-test Erin."

Alex held up a hand. "Please, Wallace, as a my future son-in-law, just adress me as 'Alex', or 'dad'." He smiled.

"Right… Alex…" Wallace said softly. Winona grinned and squeezed her fiance's hand.

"Dad, I'll show them to their rooms, okay?"

"Sure, Winona…" Alex said, and waved at him as they walked away.

"He's sort of a care-taker," Winona explained as they walked away. "Agatha's not here most of the time, though she's the owner of this entire island, so she left it in dad's care. And he's been taking pretty good care of it," she said, as they stepped inside the elevator.

"Do we get a penthouse suite or something?" James asked.

"Actually… you get four rooms on the third floor," Winona stuck a tongue out at him. "But really nice rooms, like I said." The elevator opened. "Dad makes sure that each room is designed specifically for those who are rooming in it."

"How?" Gary asked, who had strangely been quiet since they got off the plane.

"You'll see," Winona said with a little smile on her face.

(-)

"Okay, Zoey."

Steven stood in front of his daughter, a confident smile on his face. The other Pokemon were surrounding her, looking in awe at their little master's dad.

"If you're going to have this many Pokemon, I'm going to have to teach you how to battle."

"She's only two, Steven," Phoebe reminded him wearily from her chair, as she turned the pages of a new magazine.

"She'll be turning three in September, which is three months from now!" Steven protested, then turned back to Zoey. "Alright, Zo… pick a Pokemon."

Zoey looked at him for a long time. "When Sasa coming back?"

He groaned. "I don't know, sweetie, but when she gets back, you're gonna surprise her because you know how to battle already!"

The two year old shook her head. "No battle."

Phoebe chuckled, enjoying the 'bonding' that could only come from a father-daughter day. Steven ignored his wife.

"Why?"

"Contest," Zoey said simply. Steven couldn't believe his ears.

"Contests? You want to be a coordinator?" he asked.

"Pretty lights. Nona good. Me like it," was Zoey's reply, as her eyes shone. Steven remembered that Winona had joined an unofficial contest in Fortree and had invited the family. The pretty lights that Zoey was probably referring to was Skarmory's Steel Wing.

"So… the daughter of a member of the Elite Four and the Champion won't battle, but likes contests," Phoebe said, grinning. "That's so cute."

Steven pouted. "She'll get over it," he said, sighing. "Some day."

(-)

"I think I'm a dreaming," Sam said softly, as she and Erin entered their room.

It was almost like an apartment, with a living room with a sixty-inch plasma TV on the wall, comfy couches, and upon closer inspection – a kitchen, with a stocked the fridge. Sam and Erin had their own room inside the apartment-slash-room. There was a bathroom, too, somewhere in the middle of two other doors that seemed to be Sam and Erin's bedrooms.

Sam's room had light lavender walls, and fluffy purple carpeting. Her bed had a nice, soft and fluffy comforter with purple hearts, and with soft pillows. There was a book shelf filled with books, and a computer with the ultimate internet access in it, and really cool games.

She smiled when she saw a poster mounted on the wall – it was an enlarged picture of her and Gary, together.

"Sam! Is this awesome or WHAT?" Erin squealed from the next room.

Erin's room wasn't coated in purple, as Sam's had been. The walls were painted a light blue, with stripes of darker blue, and Sam realized that the walls were actually… waves. As if they were about to crash down on them. The floor was wooden. Erin's bed had a seashell pillow on it, with a bedspread with a bubbly design. Erin's room had a little grooming corner, so she could brush and tidy up her Pokemon, and on a wall were some professional-looking pictures of Erin in battles and contests.

"You love the sea, don't you?" Sam smiled, looking at Erin's pictures.

"Love-love-love it," Erin grinned. "This is just so cool! It's my dream room! Lemme see yours!"

(-)

Topaz and Amber's room had the same set-up as Sam and Erin's (the living room and the bathroom and the kitchen and refrigerator, anyway), and they were thrilled with their own rooms.

Topaz's room was painted black, with yellow zigzags that seemed to be like lightning. The carpeting was just a simple black color, but she liked it. Her bedsheet was just plain black, but turned out that the blanket was actually satin. There was a reading corner for her, just like Sam's, and a perfect view of the ocean, framed by a few palm trees.

Amber's room was completely the opposite of Topaz's. The wall design was a light pink and dark pink polka dot design, and the floor was also carpeted with a light pink material. There was a picture of her and Mason on the wall, on her desk was a computer. In the corner was a little counter with a mirror on it, and when Amber opened the drawers, they were stocked with make-up. "I can die happy," Amber gasped.

(-) (Let's keep in mind that the guys also have a living room, a bathroom, a kitchen, and a stocked ref, with a sixty-inch plasma screen)

"This is really, really, really over the top," Mason said, but he wasn't sure if he liked it or not.

James rolled his eyes. "I wonder what the rooms look like."

James's room was exactly fit him and what he was.

The wall was painted gray, but colorful speech bubbles were also painted on the walls. On the speech bubbles were some of the worst funny jokes Mason had ever read. James's bedspread was also the same, with bad jokes and the like. There was picture of him and Topaz on the wall, and on the other side, was a little grooming corner for his Pokemon.

"Hey, hey, Mason," James grinned wolfishly at his friend. "What do you call a tree that you can hold in your hand?" he asked, reading from the wall.

Mason rolled his eyes. "I don't know, what?"

"A palm tree!" James cackled. "That was so-"

"Bad joke," Mason interrupted him, and walked over to his room.

Mason's walls were painted a dark orange, with abstract designs repeating themselves over and over again. His bedsheet was also orange, with huge fluffy pillows. In the corner, there was what Mason thought to be a reading corner, but when he got closer, the 'books' turned out to be shelves and shelves of video games for the Wii, PS7, X-box 360 squared, and other game systems. "Oh… my… god," Mason choked out. There was a little sticky-note attached to the bookshelf.

_Mr. Rider,_

_These games can be played on the game systems that are available in your living room. Have fun!_

_-Maintenance._

"Awesome," Mason grinned.

(-)

Gary and Skye, being the modest guys that they were, weren't expecting much. When they saw the sixty-inch plasma screen, they thought that that was probably it; the only fun they had been given. Boy, were they wrong.

Skye's room was painted with red and gray vertical stripes, with a wooden floor. His bed was covered with a plain white and red bedsheet, with red pillows. On his desk were notebooks and pens and other loose papers. He smiled. He loved writing. Whoever designed his room knew him well. There were also a few Pokemon care books on the shelves, along with a few mystery and horror novels.

Gary's laughter came to Skye's attention. "What is it, Gary?"

In Gary's hand was a stuffed doll with black yarn for hair, clipped to the side with purple clips, wearing a white skort and a black sleeveless hoodie. Skye gave him a questioning look. "Why are they giving you a doll?"

"Look closer."

Skye looked, and realized, when he saw the dolls purple eyes, that this doll was in resemblance to Sam. He laughed. "They really know you, hm?"

Gary shrugged. "I just found her on my bed."

"Let me take a look at your room," Skye said.

Gary's walls were painted with designs of chibi Pokemon – Gary's Pokemon, of course, with a dark green background. The carpeting was also a dark green, matching his bedsheets and pillows. A poster of him and Sam was hung on the wall, right above the desk. On his desk was a computer, and some books. "It's simple," Gary said. "But nice."

"Dark green?" Skye looked at the drawing of a Flygon in flight. "I always thought of you to be a… gray, or something."

"I like that color," Gary said, rolling his eyes.

(-)

The gang met downstairs again, Gary bringing his doll, to show to Sam. She grinned when she saw it. "Tell me that isn't what I think it is," she said, eyes lighting up. "A doll? That looks like me?"

"Yeah," Gary said, smiling in spite of himself. "I found it on my bed. Isn't she cute?" 

"Totally!" Sam said, laughing. "Wait, why don't I have a Gary doll?"

"Because his hair was hard to design onto a stuffed toy," Winona replied from behind her. "Don't worry. We can make you a Barbie doll that looks like Gary."

"No thanks," Sam said, turning around to look at Winona. Wallace was next to her, but his attention was on Erin.

"Ready?"

"Like I'll ever be," Erin replied. "Where are we gonna battle?"

"There's a battle arena near here, it's sort of like a beach arena thing. There's land and water available, so I can work with mine while you work with yours."

"Great," Erin smiled. "Let's do this."

(-)

**Second chapter: DONE!**

**Alright guys, how is it so far? Hope you like it…**

**Erin vs. Wallace is coming up next!**

**And I put in another villain, because I felt like it. So… who's it gonna be this time?**

**See you in the next chapter!**

**Ja~**


	3. Chapter 3

"This will be a six-on-six battle between Wallace, once-leader of Sootopolis Gym, and Erin of Pallet Town, and the newest addition to Hoenn's Elite Four!" Winona announced to everyone who was nearby to watch the battle.

The battle arena was… wow.

The trainers were on a raised platform, on islands that provided land for the Pokemon. In between the two small islands was the sea, which provided water for the Pokemon. There were bleachers that were half-filled with Gym leaders, personnel, and of course, the gang, who wanted to see this battle. They hadn't seen Erin Hunter in battle before, and they were going to see it now.

"I have some new water babies I want to try out!" Wallace told Erin. Erin nodded.

"Fine with me! I'm just going to train some of my regulars!" Erin grinned. _This is gonna be a great battle! Six-on-six… and against Wallace, too. He's the best rival I could ask for – after Steven, of course._

"Luvdisc, we're up!" Wallace tossed up a Pokeball, and in the water appeared the heart shaped Pokemon. Gary had a flashback of a time when he and Sam had come across a group of Luvdisc… he smiled.

"Alright," Erin squinted her eyes. "Up in the sky! Pidgeot, let's play!" she smiled as her Pidgeot appeared, amidst a chorus of sparkles.

"Hey, isn't that a ball for coordinators?" Amber asked Sam.

"Yeah. But she's a coordinator, too, you know. When I first met her, she was using her contest skills in battle," Sam replied. "She's pretty good. And she was twelve, the last time I saw her."

"Is she good? In contests, I mean," Topaz said, eyes never leaving the battle field.

"She's won all the ribbons in Kanto, Johto, Sinnoh and Hoenn, and won the Grand Festivals in Kanto, Johto and Hoenn." 

"Wow," Skye said, looking in admiration at the redheaded girl. "What about Sinnoh?"

"That's what she was planning to do… but then she got side-tracked by the Pokemon League, and got spotted by the Elite four here, in Hoenn."

"Luvdisc, let's give Pidgeot a Sweet Kiss!"

"Pidgeot, dodge it!" Erin called out her plan, and nodded, satisfied that Pidgeot had dodged it well. "Then use Gust!"

"Underwater, Luvdisc!" Luvdisc went underwater as Pidgeot's Gust made ripples in the water. "Then come up for Hydro Pump!"

Erin winced. _Right after a Gust? Hm. Wallace has this hit. _A spray of water hit her Pidgeot. "Pidgeot, you okay?" she asked, practically seeing the points being depleted from her. "Right… swoop down, and use Aerial Ace!" 

"Underwater again!" Wallace commanded. "Whirlpool!"

"Ah!" Erin gasped as she spotted the starting signs of a vortex that would suck in her Pidgeot and end the battle. _Luvdisc would be useless out of water… _she smiled. "Change that, Pidgeot! Agility, then get Luvdisc out of the water!"

"That's impossible, Pidgeot'd have to be super fast to reach Luvdisc before Whirlpool is complete," Wallace mused. He gasped, and saw Pidgeot become merely a blur as it sped towards the water.

"That's the fastest Agility I've ever seen!" Gary said, impressed. "Faster than Ash's Pikachu, I'm sure!"

"That's… really, really good…" James said, mouth open.

Pidgeot, meanwhile, had reached Luvdisc… and then… _it dived underwater. _

"What?" Wallace exclaimed, leaning over the railing of his podium to see better.

"Don't tell me that none of your opponents has ever tried that, Wallace?" Erin asked casually.

"It's just that…" Wallace grit his teeth.

The bird Pokemon emerged out of the water, Luvdisc balanced perfectly on his beak.

"Up high!" Erin commanded.

Wallace was silent. There was nothing he could do, now that Luvdisc was useless. Now he understood – Erin knew how to get rid of handicaps, like the fact that Luvdisc would just simply go underwater, should she try to attack it. But he smirked. Good thing that Luvdisc was the only Pokemon he had that was bound to the sea.

"Now: Wing Attack!"

Pidgeot tossed Luvdisc slightly to the side, and waited for Luvdisc to start dropping towards the ground. Then, he sped towards Luvdisc, and, wings glowing, slammed hard into it.

There was a cloud of dust, and when it had cleared, Luvdisc was floating on the water, knocked-out.

"Luvdisc is unable to battle! Pidgeot wins this round!"

"That was fast," a stunned Topaz said. Amber nodded slowly.

"She's really gotten better…" Sam said softly.

Skye was just staring, admired, at her.

Erin smiled, and held out her arm. Pidgeot flew towards her, and bumped its' head against hers. "Truly magnificent, Pidgeot," she cooed, and held up a Pokeball. "Now you go back inside." She turned towards Wallace, who had just returned his Luvdisc. "I'm going to change Pokemon every round, okay? Just to train them up a bit. Of course, if they faint, then…" she left the statement unfinished.

Wallace nodded. "Alright." He pulled out a Pokeball, and smiled. "This time, I won't have a hard time with the water handicap…" he smirked. "Ludicolo, let's go!"

"Hmm…" Erin thought. Who was she going to use? "A-ha…" she reached for a Pokeball, and cupped it in both of her hands. "Let's play, Alakazam!"

"She has an _Alakazam_?" James whispered in awe. "I've been trying to catch an Abra, and Erin's already captured an _Alakazam_? That's probably the best Psychic Pokemon that exists!"

Wallace blinked; an Alakazam was something he hadn't gone against in a long time. "Ludicolo, Surf!"

Without hesitation, Erin cocked her head and commanded her Alakazam. "Teleport."

As the waves crashed down, Alakazam disappeared and reappeared floating above the water, in a meditation posture. "Alakazam, good!"

"Tsch." Wallace knew that trying to make anything touch Alakazam would fly back because of a Psychic attack. "Get up close, Ludicolo! Try to knock it off balance!" Ludicolo lumbered through the water, and on towards where Alakazam was floating.

"Alakazam, Confusion!"

"Kazam!"

Mind waves emitted from Alakazam's spoon. "Ludicolo, quick, underwater!"

"Colo!"

The Confusion attack made mere ripples dance across the water. Erin frowned. This was getting too frequent for her liking. She would find a way to demolish the water; if only some of her Pokemon weren't dependent on water, too. That's when she got it. "Alakazam, when Ludicolo gets up, Shadow Ball!"

Alakazam nodded.

Wallace couldn't tell Ludicolo to stay down, could he? "Ludicolo…"

"Lu!" Ludicolo popped out of the water.

"Now!" Erin, dead-set on beating Wallace today with a perfect record, was satisfied as Alakazam executed a really good Shadowball.

"I can see it now," Gary was telling Sam.

"Huh?" 

"Her attacks… they're so clean. That's the only way I can describe them. They're not over the top, or anything. That's why she's a great coordinator, I bet. Because she's focused on not messing up, even when she takes a hit."

Ludicolo was dazed as he hit the bottom of Wallace's podium. "You okay, Ludicolo?"

Ludicolo nodded. "Co-lo!" he looked a bit bruised, though.

"Hydro Pump!"

"Alakazam, Light Screen!"

The force of the Hydro Pump against Light Screen was evident. Ludicolo obviously had a very strong Hydro Pump, but Light Screen was also pretty strong. Both were straining to keep their attacks strong.

Erin and Wallace stared at their Pokemon. "Come on…" Erin said softly.

"Ka… Ka-zam!" Alakazam's eyes glowed, and he pushed his arms out. The Light Screen he had been projecting flew forward, against the Hydro Pump, and made the Hydro Pump rebound and hit Ludicolo instead.

The result was golden sparkles (the Light Screen, smashing) and water falling from the sky.

"She would've gotten points for that one," Amber said. "That was really creative." 

"Nice one, Alakazam!" Erin said, smiling. "You did that all on your own!" _I didn't even teach him how to do that… _she thought, amazed.

"Ludicolo?" Wallace asked. Hydro Pump wasn't that effective against Ludicolo, but still, he had been hit pretty hard.

Ludicolo struggled to get up, but fainted.

"Ludicolo is unable to battle! Alakazam is the winner!" Erin grinned.

"You rest now, Alakazam, okay? That was pretty super," she beamed, and returned Alakazam to its' ball.

"Alright," Wallace said, a bit grumpy, now that he was losing to a girl – that was about ten years younger than him. "No more nice guy. Gyarados!" 

A Gyarados that was obvious huger than the normal ones appeared in the water, in all its might. Erin gasped.

"You've obviously been taking good care of it," Erin quipped.

Wallace smiled. "Let's see you top that, Erin."

"I've trained this tough guy for battles in the water," Erin said. "Have you ever seen a Pokemon other than a water type that can fight in the water?"

"Let me see what you've got," Wallace snapped back.

"The stage is yours! Machamp!"

"Ma… Machamp?" Amber squeaked. "She uses those for contests?"

"She's known for using unusually strong Pokemon for contests. Believe it or not, that Machamp won her two ribbons in Johto." 

They turned around to see who had spoken. "Glacia!" Sam cried out. It had been a while since she had seen Glacia.

The older woman smiled at them. "Agatha told us you'd be here for a while. I think that this battle between Wallace and Erin is really fascinating, don't you? I'm surprised that Wallace hasn't been able to win yet…"

"So have we," Gary said. "Wallace was always pretty good – I mean, he was supposed to be the champion… but now…"

Wallace, on his podium, opened his mouth at the fighting Pokemon flexing its muscles on the beach. "Well, shit," he muttered underneath his breath. "Gyarados, let's start off with Dragonbreath!"

Erin smiled. "Machamp, dive underwater." 

Murmurs and whispers echoed throughout the grandstand; so, she taught her Pokemon how to swim, hm?

Machamp took a running start and dived into the water, surprising graceful despite his muscled form, and resurfaced, using two hands to keep him a float, the other two above the water. Gyarados stared at Machamp angrily and snorted.

"Machamp, cross chop." Machamp grinned, and started to close in on Gyarados, using strong strokes to get closer. He leaped up in the water, and…

"Now, another Dragonbreath!" Wallace commanded all of a sudden.

"Champ?" Machamp froze a bit as Gyarados opened it's mouth… and the Dragonbreath hit it's mark. "Chaaaamp!"

Machamp went flying.

"Machamp!" Erin cried out. She didn't expect that last move. She grit her teeth. "You okay?"

Machamp shook its' head, as if to clear his head, and gave Erin four thumbs up. She grinned. "Good. Now… let's show them we mean business." She smiled sweetly.

(-)

"You have to admit, Steven…" Phoebe said, looking out the window. "Zoey's Pokemon are a big help in the garden."

"Don't go on their side!" Steven narrowed his eyes. "They're going to abduct our daughter."

"You have gone insane, Steven," Phoebe sighed. "They're a Budew, Igglybuff, Pichu, Beldum, Vulpix, Zigzagoon and Teddiursa. At the lowest level they've ever been at."

"Well, when they evolve they'll be a Roserade, Wigglytuff, Raichu, Metagross, Ninetales, Linoone and…" he shuddered. "Ursaring."

"The Ursaring is a little scary," Phoebe agreed, "But I mean, she'll probably be like twelve when it's had enough experience to evolve."

"You're right…" Steven said wearily. "I wonder how Sam's doing?"

"She's probably having a bit of fun," his wife answered. "Knowing her."

"Yes, she probably would…" he sighed. "Hey, I wonder if Roarke's vacationing there? In Palm Tree Island, I mean." The Sinnoh Gym Leader had a little tiny crush on Erin, and even though the crush was tiny, it was really obvious.

"He might be," Phoebe said. "The Leaders have been called back a bit, to Palm Tree Island, because there's apparently a big announcement. No one's in their posts for the next few weeks."

"They closed all the gyms?" Steven asked.

"Mm-hm…"

"Why do you know all of this when I don't?" Steven rolled his eyes.

(-)

Erin smiled. So good, so far. Her Machamp had won against Wallace's Gyarados, Dewgong had gone head to head against Whiscash and won, and her Dragonair had pounded Wallace's pride and joy (his Milotic) into the dust. Now… for the last battle.

Wallace was starting to lose hope. If he couldn't win the past battles, why could he win this last one? He sighed; now for his newest addition to his gang. "I'm not going to use a Water Pokemon," he announced. "I thought it would be great training if she dealt with not just one type."

She cocked her head at Wallace's announcement. A new type, hm? This was going to be interesting.

"Alright, up in the sky, Salamance!"

Erin actually took a step back. She'd been expecting anything else but _that_. She didn't imagine Wallace actually going through all the trouble of raising something as violent as this one.

"Surprised?" Wallace looked pleased. "Now you have a handicap! My Pokemon can fly, and it's not in the water! I might just win one battle!"

In the audience, Sam snickered. "Gullible Wallace…" she muttered.

"Why, Sam?" Gary asked. The others looked at her, interested.

"Knowing Erin, she's brought her first – and most powerful Pokemon. Her starter Pokemon that she raised on her sweat, blood and tears." Sam smiled, knowing exactly who was coming up next. "You'll be seeing her soon, I'm sure."

Erin started laughing. "You've given me a handicap? Oh, I don't think so," she said, and watched Wallace pale. "Let's show them what you're made of…" she pulled out a Pokeball, and threw it up in the air. Flames erupted from the Pokeball. Another co-ordinator ball. "Charizard… I choose you."

Erin's Charizard landed on the ground with a thump, and a little smile. Charizard flapped her wings enthusiastically, while Salamance eyed her warily.

Sam grinned. "Knew it."

"Sam, how did you know…?" Amber asked, eyes on Charizard.

"I've been taking care of Chari when she was training her other Pokemon. Erin didn't like leaving Chari with Professor Oak… she wanted her favorite to have star treatment."

"Salamance, Flamethrower," Wallace said, unusually calm.

"You too, Chari!" Erin smiled hugely. "Flamethrower! Torch him!" 

With a roar, both Pokemon opened their mouths and let out a jet of fire that met in the middle of the battlefield. Everyone gasped. Erin smiled.

Erin's Charizard could make _blue fire._

"Is that even possible?" Even Glacia was shocked. "I didn't think you could teach a Pokemon something like that… no Pokemon I've ever seen has been able to breathe out – or create blue fire!"

Sam was shocked, too. "She's really trained Chari well." 

"Blue fire…" Skye said softly.

The two attacks meeting in the center of the battlefield resulted in an explosion, and everyone had to momentarily close their eyes as smoke covered the area. Then, they heard Wallace and Erin shout: "Out of the smoke, guys, and into the sky!"

Chari and Salamance popped out of the smoke, and eyed each other, hungry for a battle. "Flamethrower again!" Wallace commanded.

"Dodge it, Chari!" Erin said, and watched as Chari swooped down, and started racing towards the blue and red beast. "Now, Dragon Claw!" 

Salamance let out a roar as it got hit. Chari swooped back, and out of distance, watching her opponent writhe in pain.

"Salamance, get in there!" Wallace said. "Headbutt that Charizard!"

"Chari, you dive in too," Erin encouraged her Pokemon. The two met in mid-air, and they each tried to push against each other; kind of like those dinosaurs that used to do that.

Chari roared. _Not so tough, are ya, big boy? _

Salamance roared back as he tried to push back the female Charizard. _I'll finish you, you oversized lizard!_

_Look who's talking! _Chari gave a loud grunt and pushed even harder.

"In her face, Salamance, Flamethrower!"

"Chari!"

Chari flew back at the impact, and caught herself by flapping her wings a bit, hovering above the island. Erin clenched her fists. She didn't like it when a battle went on for a long time. And this, by her standards, was long enough.

Erin was a one-hit-KO kind of girl.

"Overheat!" she commanded. "And torch 'em, will you?" she smiled up at her Charizard.

Her Pokemon gave something that look kind of like a nod, and flew up, so she could be level with Salamance, and breathed out a jet of blue flame, only this flame was thicker than the Flamethrower attack, and much more powerful.

"You know what to do, Chari!" Erin threw up her fist. "Double Strike!"

"Wait, what is she talking about?" James asked Sam.

"I don't know," she replied thoughtfully.

Chari's blue flames sped right towards Salamance, and then – she flew right into her own flames. Now, covered in blue fire, she charged towards Salamance and slammed herself into it.

(-) 

"Hn."

"What is it, master?" a young guy asked, bowing low before a figure sitting in a chair before a TV screen, which was displaying the current activities of Sam and her friends.

"It's… nothing."

The battle raged on before their eyes, and the guy gasped. "Erin…"

The figure turned around in a snapping motion. "You know this girl?"

"I know her by face," he replied quickly. "I… she's the knew member of the Elite Four in Hoenn…"

"I see." No words were spoken. "Get me more info on this 'Erin'. It might be nice to have her on our side."

"Yes… master."

(-)

"YES!" Erin grinned, as she saw Salamance on the ground, knocked up pretty badly. "Way to _burn_, Chari!" she smiled, and shot a thumbs up at the Charizard, who had been doing spirals in the air.

"Losing… all my battles…" Wallace muttered. "There's a first for everything," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, Wallace!" Erin called to him from the other podium. "Nice battle. Thanks!"

Wallace could only smile. "Back to you, Erin."

Both of them descended the stairs.

Erin went immediately over to the gang (Glacia had disappeared) and smiled. "How was it?"

"That was incredible!" Topaz exclaimed.

"How did you teach Charizard that Blue Fire thing?" James asked.

"Hmmm…" Erin looked thoughtful. "When Chari evolved into a Charizard, it was just something she could do. Even I was surprised," she said, smiling.

"You were great, though," Sam smiled and gave Erin a little hug.

"Yeah, you were… awesome," Skye said softly, and smiled at her.

Erin blushed, and Amber elbowed Topaz in the ribs, smiling.

"E… Erin!" They turned around to see the leader of Orebugh, Roarke, standing behind her, looking a little flustered. "Hey…" he said, almost awkwardly.

"Oh, hi, Roarke," Erin gave him a genuine smile. "How are you?"

"I… I'm fine," Roarke said, grinning.

"He's not acting like the Roarke I defeated before," Sam said, narrowing her eyes.

"You're right," Mason said. "He's acting… kinda… different."

"Well," Winona appeared, Wallace beside her. "Roarke _does _have a little crush on Erin," she whispered.

Skye's ears practically perked up at that.

"He does?" Topaz asked, surprised. "Well, she _is _very pretty. I wouldn't be surprised… but how old is he?"

"Twenty-six," Wallace replied.

"A five… year… age… gap?" Skye said slowly, piercing the words together. It didn't make any sense.

Wallace shrugged. "Five years seems like a lot when people are like, fifteen and twenty. But it doesn't seem like a lot when they're seventy and sixty-five, right?"

Skye muttered some phrases that couldn't be heard.

"Someone's jealous," Amber teased, just loud enough for Skye to hear.

"I am _not_," he scowled. "I'm just concerned for her future."

"Yeah right," Topaz said, smirking.

"Actually… the leaders were all called on vacation for a few weeks, here in Palm Tree…" he scratched the back of his head. "A-and well… I'm kinda surprised to see you here, Erin…"

"That makes two of us," Erin said. "I didn't expect this whole bunch of leaders to be here…"

"Well…" Roarke seemed to struggle for words. "Will you join that dinner tomorrow evening?"

"Yeah," she replied.

"Do you want to… er…" Roarke turned away, so as she couldn't see the blush on his face, "Sit with… me?" 

"Oh, uh, I'm actually with my friends, Roarke, and they might want me to…" she turned to them.

Amber got a quick idea, and turned to Topaz and Sam. "Just go along with me. This, I'm sure, is going to force Skye to make a move." She grinned at them, and turned to Erin. "Oh, it's alright, Erin," she said, waving her hand dismissively. "You obviously have some catching up to do with Roarke, so…"

"We'll just let you!" Sam said brightly.

_They're up to something, _Gary thought wearily, recognizing the look on Sam's face.

"Are you sure?" Erin asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Quite," Topaz said, flashing a quick smile. "We'd want you to keep in touch with some old friends."

"Wait-" Skye blurted out. Everyone looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Er… it's just that… maybe Winona had the seating… uh, planned or something…" Sam, Topaz and Amber gave each other knowing looks.

Totally oblivious to what was happening, Winona just shook her head. "It's a sit down wherever you want to kind of thing," she said simply. Skye frowned.

"Oh, okay," Erin said. She turned to Roarke. "Well, I guess it's okay, then," she smiled at him.

"That's good," Roarke said, breathing a sigh of relief. Skye shot him a Look that everybody except for Erin and Roarke saw.

"If you really want her to spend time with you," Sam whispered, "Then ask her to do something with you. Don't just stand there and act jealous."

"Shut. Up," Skye muttered.

"Hey, Erin?" Roarke tried to get her attention.

"Hm?"

"You know they have like this new exhibit in the museum… it's about different fossils and origins of Pokemon," Roarke said.

Everyone thought that Erin would probably turn him down at that, but they were surprised when an excited grin spread across her face. "Oh, really?" she looked genuinely interested in the same things Roarke was in. "I've always wanted to know what kind of new fossils have been newly discovered! This is great! Maybe I'll go see it…"

"How about now?" Roarke asked.

Skye grit his teeth. "Bathroom," he muttered to James, and stalked away, furious.

"It's fun seeing him this jealous," Topaz whispered to Sam, "But I mean, you have to feel sorry for the guy, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Now?" Erin turned to the gang, a pleading expression on her face. "Are you guys gonna…?" she left the statement unfinished.

"Go!" Amber said. "If you're really interested, I mean. We'll probably just be hanging out in our rooms all day."

"Okay, then," Erin smiled. She turned to Roarke. "Where's the museum?"

"Right over this way…" he started walking, and the two started talking animatedly about things.

"Is it just me, or is Skye jealous?" Wallace put a finger to his chin.

"He's jealous," Gary, Sam, Topaz, Amber, James and Mason replied at the same time.

"Oh, poor guy," Winona said. "When it gets right down to it, Erin and Roarke have a lot in common."

"Which reminds me," Amber said, eyebrows creasing. "Sam, was Erin always a fossil nerd?"

James grinned. "Nice terms."

"I never asked," Sam replied. "She seems pretty interested, though." 

"In who," Gary asked, raising an eyebrow. "The fossil exhibit or Roarke?"

(-)

The girls went to the lobby and excitedly read through the brochure that described the facilities on the island.

"Look, Topaz!" Amber's eyes lit up. "They have tennis courts!"

"Awesome," Topaz smiled.

"And there's the museum that Roarke was going to take Erin to," Sam pointed out. "Ooh, a contest hall!"

"I've always wanted to try my hand at contests," Amber said thoughtfully. "I mean, battling is hard, but when you're battling with style… and graded on points, not when the Pokemon gets KO'd… and with a time limit? It's challenging… and sounds fun!"

"Hey, I've always wanted to try, too," Sam agreed. "At least we'd have experience in something other than battles, at least."

Topaz read on. "Hey, this is really cool! Look at this: 'Pokemon Keepers:'," she read it aloud. "Tired of only carrying around your six Pokemon? Pokemon Keepers is licensed to take care of _all _your Pokemon during your stay in Palm Tree Island Hotel, entirely free! All you have to do is sign your name, have the Professor who keeps your Pokemon send as many as you want over here, and we'll watch them for you! You can even visit them any time you like, be it ten in the evening, or four in the morning! What's more, you can take any of them to enjoy the Pokemon Perks available, which you'll find on page twenty-two…" she looked up from reading. "That's actually pretty decent. All our Pokemon will be ready and on call, three floors below us!"

"I'm gonna visit soon," Sam decided. She was missing her Pokemon. "I'll tell Gary about it. It's probably been a long time since he's seen his other Pokemon."

"Yeah," Amber said. "Oh, hey, they have pools! With water slides!" she grinned. "I don't know about you guys, but it's been ages since I've been on a water slide." 

Sam grinned right back at her. "When you're going, call me!"

"Sam, look," Topaz said, turning the page. "A library-slash-bookstore! With the latest books!"

"Oh, wow," Sam said, grabbing the brochure. "Darn it, I just better stop reading it," she laughed. "I won't know where to start once I'm done reading all of this!"

"That makes two of us," Amber said, shutting the brochure and putting it back on the shelf. "Why don't we just rest a little in our rooms and then before the dinner we can walk around and explore? We can go with the guys, too, if they're up for it."

(-)

"It says here that before, Cranidos used to live in the sea," a surprised Erin read from a plaque. "Well, that's surprising."

"No, it actually says that Cranidos's ancestors used to live in the sea," Roarke corrected her, reading the same plaque. "But that's pretty cool, anyway. Cranidos is a rock Pokemon. I had expected its ancestors to live on land."

"That makes two of us," Erin said, charming him without ever meaning to.

She moved on to the next exhibit, a fossil of an Kabuto, and studied it carefully. Behind her, Roarke smiled absentmindedly… this girl was just perfect. She loved fossils, she was genuine, she was a great coordinator and trainer, she was really nice, she was _so_ pretty, and they had so much in common.

_For the past twenty five years, my only love was fossils, and the Pokemon I own. Now I've met you, and I just can't stop thinking about you! I'm twenty six, and I've finally found the right one for me… but why can't I tell you that? _Roarke sighed. _I feel like a fifteen year old who doesn't know how to express his feelings._

(-)

Sam walked around the room that she and Erin shared, and sighed. It was a little too quiet for her taste. She sighed. She could always go into the next room with Amber and Topaz… but something was bugging her.

Gary.

Was it just her imagination, or was her boyfriend just too quiet today? He was only this quiet when he was thinking. Even during the battle, she had expected him to drill Erin into telling him what her 'battle style' was. But not a word. She sighed again, and walked out the door, then went two doors to the left.

_Knock knock._

"It's open!" Gary's voiced called out. She smirked. Typical Gary.

She opened the door and saw Gary watching some televised battle of some trainer against Steven. She walked over to the couch, and sat down next to him. "How's it going?"

"It's pretty boring," Gary sighed, and lay down so his head was resting on Sam's lap. "Skye hasn't come back from his sulking fest, and Mason and James are in the girls' room."

Sam ran her fingers through his hair almost absentmindedly as she watched her brother fight someone who strangely looked like that guy, Ash Ketchum. "I hope he's alright. I didn't think that knowing that Roarke was interested in Erin would upset him that much."

"Guys are like that," Gary said, with a wise look in his eyes. Sam laughed.

"Hey," she said gently, looking into his eyes. "You were pretty quiet today."

"You noticed," he said, surprised. "Well, I shouldn't be shocked. You _would _notice."

"Wanna tell me what's wrong?"

"It's nothing to make a big deal out of," he said dismissively.

"Come on," she begged. "I want to know what's wrong."

"Before the battle… I saw Tate with Liza in the lobby."

Wondering why that would bug him so much, she rose her eyebrows. "I saw them, too… but why is that bothering you so much?"

"After Steven and Phoebe got back from that meeting, you and Skye were supposed to go that day, right? Then you spoke up and we ended up leaving a week after that… and you know I went to Mossdeep during that one week, right?"

"Yeah…" Sam said slowly. "Come to think of it, you never told me why you went there…"

"Liza got into an accident."

"Huh?" Sam gasped. "What kind of accident?"

"Tate and Liza were training their new Psychic Pokemon, a pair of Natu, by the cliffs," he said. "And they forgot that those cliffs were eroding pretty badly. An area of rock crumbled under Liza, she slipped, hit her head a few times, and fell into the water. Tate couldn't get his Pokemon down there in time…" he sighed. "Tate called me, and told me not to tell anyone that she was hurt this badly. He didn't want a lot of people crowding the two of them."

"Is she okay?" Sam asked, her expression worried.

"She's in the hospital." Gary's unusual poker face was on. "She's in a _coma_, Sam. And Tate told me he wouldn't leave her if his life depended on it."

Sam understood. "So… both of them shouldn't be here… and walking around, at the least."

"Unless something miraculous happened, Liza shouldn't be here at all. So what's going on?"

(-)

**CHAPTER THREE DONE!**

**Oooh. Mysterious-ness on a perfect island. Creepy.**

**I just LOVED this island I made up. It seems perfect. Oh, if only there was a place like this in real life… with real live Pokemon, too! :D **

**Ja~**


	4. Chapter 4

"Oh, hey, look, it's the origin of Charizard," Roarke said excitedly. "Did I tell you that I really liked your Charizard's performance?" Erin smiled weakly.

"Many times," she said, giving him a teasing smile, although her eyes remained on the Charizard that was sketched onto the plaque. _That drawing… it looks exactly like…_

_-Flashback-_

"_Chari!" Erin scolded her newly evolved Charizard, who was still happily flying in circles in the air. Erin's lips were in a straight line, but in all honesty, she was just happy that Chari had finally evolved. "Get down here, you beast!" she laughed._

_Chari zoomed down and playfully tackled Erin to the ground with a happy roar. "Ch-Chari!" Erin choked back giggles. "Stop it!"_

_Just then, a roar shook the forest around them. Trainer and Pokemon immediately froze. Erin tensed, and whispered to Chari. "Get up in the sky. See what's going on."_

_Chari obeyed, and flew up in the sky, leaving Erin defenseless against whatever was roaming out there. She jumped when a nearby bush shook, and waited to see what was going to happen. She wasn't expecting a tall boy who sort of looked her age to step out of the bushes, with sandy hair and green eyes, wearing a light blue t-shirt and shorts with numerous pockets. And most of all, she wasn't expecting her heart to start beating so out of control._

"_Oh, so it was you who was wandering around," the guy said, giving an almost careless toss of his head. His smile was genuine. Erin just wanted to melt._

"_W-Well, it's just Petalburg Forest," Erin said, raising an eyebrow. "Lots of people pass by here."_

_He smiled at her again. "Is that your Charizard up in the sky?" he asked, gesturing his hand up at a circling Chari._

_She nodded. "What's it to you?"_

"_I thought my Charizard sensed someone else," he explained. "Come on out, Charizard."_

"_Ah…" was all Erin could say as a huge, intimidating kind of Charizard stepped out behind the guy. One thing that stood out was a long, jagged scar that started from the top of it's right eye, slashed downwards, then reached down just before his jaw. It looked like it was long healed, but it didn't stop Erin from wondering who or what had done that._

_He noticed her looking at the scar. "I didn't catch this Charizard, I found a trainer abusing it as a Charmander, then when he got scratched over the eye… I just had to do something, you know?"_

_Erin smiled at him. "Yeah… I understand what you mean," she said, meaning it. She cupped her hands around her mouth and called to Chari. "Chari! Come on down! They're friends!"_

_Chari heard her trainer, and came zooming down, once again tackling Erin to the ground. After rolling a bit, Erin coughed and stood up again, smiling. "You have to get used to the wings, Chari," she said. Chari looked bashful and bumped her snout on Erin's forehead._

"_Is your Charizard a girl?" the guy asked._

"_Well, yeah…" she said. "Chari, this is Charizard, but of course you already know," she said with a teasing glint in her eyes._

"_May I ask for your name?" the guy asked. Erin smiled at him._

"_Erin. Erin Hunter." Feeling a sudden rush of adrenaline, she stepped forward and held out her hand. She felt a little tingle when their hands touched. "And you?"_

_He smiled at her, and squeezed her hand a little. "I'm…"_

"Erin? Erin!" Erin shook her head when she felt Roarke shaking her gently. "Are you okay?" she felt him guiding her to a little chair.

"H-huh? Roarke?" she looked at him, confused. "What happened?"

He looked at her, concerned. "After I showed you that plaque, you just… blacked out. Are you okay? Did I say something that upset you?"

"Oh, no…" Erin tried to look at him reassuringly. "And, yeah, I'm fine, really!" _Only that Charizard looked a whole lot like… like _his _Charizard…_

(-)

Sam and Gary talked for a little bit, and finally decided to keep that Tate and Liza thing a secret. "Who knows, maybe I was just seeing things," he said, not sounding convinced.

Just then, the door burst open, and Amber appeared, Topaz, Skye, Erin, James and Mason next to her. "Indoor ice skating!" she squealed. "We have to go!"

Sam grinned, and Gary sat up. "Alright!" she said. "Hey, Erin, Skye, where have you guys been?"

"Erin was just opening the door when we came out, Skye too," Topaz explained. "So are we going or what?"

(-)

Everyone was wearing a jacket, long pants, and gloves. Amber and Erin were wearing yellow and peach scarves, respectively, and Sam had a little wool hat on.

Amber watched as Gary helped Sam tie the laces on her ice skates, and smiled to herself. She had done hers herself, so with the other girls. Erin joined her. "It just makes you a bit jealous, doesn't it?" Amber asked her.

"Hm?" Erin followed Amber's line of sight, and saw the two lovebirds. "Yeah, I guess I have to admit it," she smiled. "They're not like most couples I've seen."

"I know, right?" Topaz said, suddenly appearing. "Some couples are all about making out and holding hands and spending days and nights in each others bedrooms, but those two…"

"It's as if they just… love being together," Amber said. "I think that's how couples really should be like, right?"

Meanwhile, everyone was in their skates, and they got out on the ice. Other people were going solo on the ice, like Gardenia, who was doing complicated swirls in the center, and others, like Flannery and Sidney just going in circles around the rink.

Everyone did a double take. "Is that Flannery with Sidney?" James asked, eyes wide.

"I guess so," Sam said, "I mean, they were partners during Steven and Phoebe's wedding but was there something more?"

Gary sighed. "If we're just going to block the entrance for the next few hours, then maybe I'll just leave."

Laughing, Amber stepped onto the ice, wobbled a bit, then got her balance again, smiling as she skated easily across the smooth ice. Mason smiled and joined her as they skated around the rink. Gary smiled at Sam, and held out his hand.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's been about a year since you've skated," he said. Sam stuck her tongue out at him, and grabbed his hand. He guided her in slow gliding steps.

Topaz seemed to have the same ice skills as her sister, and zoomed over to the center and did a little twirl. She stopped and saw James gripping the side, struggling with the slippery surface. Topaz cocked her head, and skated forward. "You don't know how to skate?"

He rolled his eyes. "Well, I think it's pretty obvi-" he slipped and fell hard on his butt, wincing. She choked back a giggle, and held out her hand, which he took. She pulled him up, but didn't let go of his hand. She took the other one so that she was holding both of his hands, and smiled.

"I guess I'm just going to have to teach you, then," she said gently, and started skating with him, matching his slow pace, and giving him a few tips.

Skye turned to Erin. "I don't know how you're going to take this, but…" he looked away, a bit embarrassed. "I, uh, can't skate."

He was surprised when she started giggling. "Actually, Skye…" she said softly, and Skye looked at her. "I can't skate, either."

Skye laughed. "Well, then, looks like we'll just have to sit down on the bench and wait for them to come back?"

Erin grinned. "Hey, it was really hard to tie these laces, I'm not going to waste all my effort!" She stepped on the ice, and the minute she did, one feet slipped forward, and she started falling backwards.

Skye caught her effortlessly, and smiled at her. "Maybe we'll lessen the chances of falling if we stick together."

Erin smiled. "Alright…" she said, and allowed him to push her up a little. She stood stock-still on the ice, not knowing how to move. Skye stepped onto the ice soon after, trying his best to put one foot in front of the other. He finally reached her, and, with a little uncertainty, he offered her his elbow, smiling. After a few moments of hesitation, she hooked her arm in his, and smiled up at him.

The two struggled, laughed, and slipped a bit as they did one lap around the rink. "That was actually pretty tiring for one lap," Erin said, laughing.

"Tell me about it," Skye said, making sure not to let his grip on Erin lessen. He watched Sam and Gary skating together, apparently, they were racing each other. "Those two are having a blast with each other." 

"Mm-hm," she replied, nodding.

"I've never had a relationship that was… really that close with someone." He felt a bit uncomfortable, knowing he had to say these next words to her, regardless. "I was with Amber for almost two years, though, but it was… complicated."

Erin froze. _Why didn't Amber tell me?_, she thought, horrified. _And here I am… with him… I could be making her totally uncomfortable right now… what am I doing?_

"Oh, no… Erin… I… we're over," he said, seeing the look on her face. "Amber's with Mason. I'm single. I still am. You don't have to…"

She shook her head. "It's okay. I wasn't… it's just that I… oh, never mind," she said softly.

Skye decided that it was the best time to change the subject. "They look cute together, don't they?"

Her breath caught in her throat. She remembered…

_Flashback…_

"_They look cute together, don't they?"_

_Erin smiled. The guy she had met in Petalburg Forest had become her traveling partner, and the two of them had become best friends. They were now in Sootopolis City, after receiving their eighth badge, watching a couple splashing each other and swimming around, laughing all the while._

"_Yeah," she said, smiling to herself at the couple. They _were_ pretty cute together. She and her partner were sitting down on the grass, relaxing. Their water Pokemon had taken a dip, and they were watching them._

"_You know, they're holding a contest here in two days," he said, "And I know you need one more ribbon."_

_Erin sighed. "How can I possibly manage participating in the Hoenn League and the Grand Festival?"_

There was a teasing glint in his eyes. "Oh, so you already know that you're going to win this ribbon?"

_She blushed, and rolled her eyes. "You know I didn't mean it like that."_

He laughed. "I know." He leaned back on his hands and tossed his head a little, to brush away the bangs that almost covered his eyes. Erin would never tell anyone, of course, but she thought that that gesture was just so cute_._

_The couple they were watching were now playing with their Pokemon, a Lapras and a Dewgong, and were racing each other. "Do you want us to be like that?" he asked her all of the sudden._

_The question caught her off guard. "Huh?"_

_He was silent, and looked at Erin with such a serious look in his eyes that made her start to blush. "Do you want us to be like that?" he repeated, emphasis on the 'us'._

"_Wait, wait, wait, you mean like a…" she couldn't finish. "A…"_

"_A couple," he said softly, and held her hand. Erin gulped. _This isn't happening.

"_What are you…"_

"_I really like you, Erin. Ever since I bumped into you at Petalburg forest. You've always been there for me. You've been my best friend and my rival at the same time. My mentor, and my role model. You're amazing, you know…" his eyes softened._

_Erin couldn't speak._

"_Talk to me, Erin… please? I need to know what you're thinking…" he said, eyes pleading with her._

"_I… I… I really don't know what to say," she said quietly. He was quiet, and then, he smiled at her. He let go of her hand, tilted her head up with one finger so that she was looking at him straight in the eye._

_"Answer me: Yes, or no. Do you feel the same?"_

"_Uh…"  
_

"_Erin. I won't get mad if you say no… I'll be embarrassed, but…"_

"_I… yes."_

"_It's okay, though – wait, yes?" the look on his face was somewhere between disbelief and happiness._

_Erin smiled shyly at him. "Yeah."_

"Yaaaah!" Erin found herself sliding and slipping way out of control. She finally landed, face-first, and was surprised to find out that the ice was surpsingly soft. That's when she opened her eyes, and saw Skye right in front of her, looking concerned.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Skye, who had, apparently, dove in front of her and lay down on the ice so she wouldn't get hurt, was under her, his face only mere inches away from hers. Erin's hands were bunched near her chest.

Erin blushed so hardly that it was almost like the color of her hair. "Sk-Skye, what…"

"You spaced out there, then when you slipped you let go of me, and I just did the first thing that came into my mind," he said softly, his eyes never leaving Erin's beautiful blue ones.

She smiled at him. "Thank you, then." She tried to reach up for the railing, and got up, shakily. She looked at Skye, who was on the floor, and she held out her hand.

(-)

Topaz, Amber and Sam were watching gleefully from the other side of the rink as Erin helped Skye up. "Skye – one point!" Amber grinned cheerfully.

"That's our boy," Topaz said, smiling.

Sam, no matter how happy she was, was very concerned about Erin. She was thinking about how she had seen Erin's face spasm with pain as she blanked out for that space of time before she fell, and the time they had spent together in Lilycove, when she had mentioned a love life to Erin… _Something really, really bad happened. I have to talk to her about it. Later._

(-)

But 'later' never came. By the time everyone was tired with ice-skating, it was dinnertime, and they decided to eat at McDonald's, which was only a few steps away from the elevator.

After dinner, Skye treated Erin to a sundae.

Amber grinned. "Skye – two points!"

James fake-scowled. "Skylar, what about us?" (the guys called him Skylar when they wanted to tease him)

Skye gave them an innocent look. "I only brought enough money for two sundaes."

Sam had almost forgotten about Erin.

Almost.

(-)

_Erin was nineteen now. She had been dating him for more than four years now. Four, wonderful, beautiful years, and tomorrow, they would have been dating for five years. Unfortunately, said boy wasn't with her at the moment; he was on a boat going to the Battle Frontier. Right now, she was preparing herself for another contest, which, if she won, would be her ticket to the Grand Festival. The contest was taking place in Sinnoh, Sunnyshore. The day previous, she had also gotten her eighth badge from Volkner. It was going pretty well._

"_Alright," she said to the three Pokemon she would be using for her contest; for the first round, she would use her Bellossom (who had won her a ribbon in Kanto, and two ribbons in Hoenn, thanks to that beautiful Petal Dance – Razor Leaf combo), for the final round (which would be a double battle) she had chosen her Blastoise and, of course, Chari. "This is going to be a bomb, do you hear me? We are gonna rule this! We only need one more ribbon to get into the Grand Festival, and I trust in you guys!" Erin said excitedly. "Bellossom, just do what you've been doing for the past years, and remember all our training! Blastoise, Chari, you two have won me three ribbons because of your teamwork. We can make it four ribbons, right? Let's do this!"_

_When the contest finally started, Erin watched as various Pokemon did their thing. She actually cared to watch since she got ideas for some of her combos doing this. Before she knew it, it was her and Bellossom._

"_And, you all know her, winner of the previous Grand Festivals in Johto, Kanto and Hoenn, from Pallet town, the famous Erin Hunter!" the announcer called out._

_Erin blushed modestly as applause echoed in her ears. She didn't know she was that popular. She cupped her Pokeball in her hands, and threw it up, in a straight line. "Bellossom, the stage is yours!" a special Pokeball that showered cherry blossom petals around Bellossom opened, and Bellossom appeared._

_Without a sweat, Erin entered the second round._

_As she waited in the waiting room for the second round to start, she got out her PokeNav and called him, anticipating the sound of his voice. When his face appeared on the screen, she smiled. "Hi!"_

_He smiled warmly at her. "Hey, Erin… how's the contest so far? Wait, I shouldn't be asking. You wouldn't be this happy if you lost – and I knew that you would have made it through the first round, anyway."_

_Erin laughed. "Stop talking like that, you'll jinx me! And yeah, I made it! Thanks to Bellossom. You should've seen her today, she was radiant!"_

"_I'm sure," he said. "Congrats, sweetie…"_

"_Thanks…" she sid softly. She missed him so much. Did he really have to go to the Battle Frontier? "When are you coming back, again?"_

_He looked thoughtful. "I'll be staying at the Frontier for about four days. I'll be back on the evening of the fifth day."_

_She smiled. "I'll be waiting for you at the pier…"_

"_Alright, contestants! We are about to start the second round!" the announcer called out through her microphone._

"_I heard that," he said. "Good luck, okay? I know you can do it."_

_Erin grinned. "Send Chari and Blastoise luck, too."  
_

"_My Charizard's probably sending her love," he said in a teasing tone. Erin's Chari and his Charizard were… pretty close._

_She giggled. "I'll be sure to tell her. Oh, the first match is starting. Okay, bye…" she paused. "I love you."  
_

"_I love you too. Take care of yourself," he reminded her._

"_You too…" She gave him one last smile, and hung up._

_After ten minutes had passed, Erin was up. She was feeling pretty confident. Of course, she always felt this way after she talked to him. Ever since he had joined her in Petalburg, he had never missed any of her contests – until now. But when she talked to him… she felt revitalized._

_Of course, she won the contest, and earned her fifth ribbon. When the judges were about to award her the ribbon, someone went up to the announcer and gave her a piece of paper. The announcer gasped as she read it. "Oh, my."_

"_What is it?" one of the judges asked her._

_Erin had a sudden sinking feeling in her stomach, but she ignored it. _

_The announcer shook her head, as if to clear her thoughts. "I… I would just like to… to tell everyone present… that the boat that was on the way… to the Battle Frontier… has sunk."_

No. _Erin's eyes filled up with tears. _No, that isn't possible, no… I just talked to him before the second round, they were okay! No… no! _She felt like she couldn't breathe._

"_There are ten survivors, those who were on the boat's deck and were able to jump off in time. Those who were in the boat…" the announcer's voice shook. "Didn't make it. The ten survivors are…"_

Please. _Erin hoped, with all her heart and soul… that his name would be on the list._

"_Callie and Chris Forrester. Jade Nicolson. Richard Davis." An overjoyed cry came from the side of the arena. Erin's heart started sinking, but she was determined not to lose hope. There were still six names. "Zach Harrison. Victor and Lacey Flores. CJ Jinks." Two more names. "Alexia Anderson."_

Please. Please. Give him to me. I need him. Please.

"_Lyka Dean." The last name was read. "If anyone here is tied to the survivors in any way, you are requested to report in the Slateport pier, in Hoenn."_

_Erin let out a frustrated cry, her tears started to leak. She walked over to the announcer. "P-Please, tell me you missed a name! There has to be another name there!"_

"_Erin, I'm really sorry, but-"_

"_He _has _to be there! He survived!" her tears started pouring down her cheeks now. Everyone was starting to feel sorry for the young coordinator. "H-He's on the list, right?"_

"_The names I read are the only ones here," the announcer said softly, reaching out and trying to give Erin a hug. "I'm so, so, so sorry…"_

"_No!" she avoided the hug. "You don't have to be sorry! He's alive! His name is-"_

"Erin! Erin!"

"_He's pretty tall; I'm only up to his shoulder… he has sandy hair and green eyes, he has a Charizard with a scar on its' eye…"_

"Erin, wake up!"

"_He's alive! He's in Slateport! I… I… he has to be there!"_

Erin bolted out of bed, her eyes still wet with tears. She saw Sam at the side of her face, looking concerned and worried. "S-Sam…"

"What's wrong, Erin? What was your dream about?" the bed creaked as Sam sat on the edge of Erin's bed.

"It's… it's nothing," she said softly, trying to avoid Sam's penetrating stare. "Just a… a stupid bad dream…"

"You think I didn't notice?" Sam asked her, putting a hand on Erin's shoulder. "The way you suddenly space out? You did that more than once in Lilycove, but I thought it wasn't anything big. You have to tell me. Now. Talk to me, Erin… you really need to talk about it… whatever's bothering you."

Erin was silent.

_I shouldn't push her, _Sam thought, worried, _but she needs to talk about this. It's obviously bugging her a lot…_

"His name was Will. Will Erron." Her voice was just a whisper, but you could tell from the tone of her voice that it was the first time in a long time that she had talked about him. "I met him when I was fourteen, travelling through Petalburg Woods. I already went through Kanto and Johto. He… he became my travelling partner, my best friend… my boyfriend." There was a silence, and Sam wondered what could've happened to make Erin so sad because of this Will guy. "Five years later… He… was invited to the Battle Frontier. I was, too, but I wanted to go to Sunnyshore for my fifth ribbon, and I told him he could go by himself…"

"Was there another girl?" Sam asked.

Erin shook her head. "Nothing like that. Anyway… I was done with the first round…"

Sam was alarmed. Erin's eyes were just staring blankly, her voice deadpan. Whatever had happened to Will had made a very big impact on Erin. "And I called him. He was still on the boat going there… and I was happy that I was able to talk to him. He was… was always there for me in my contests and battles… and this… this would be the first time he wouldn't be in the audience. I won that contest. I was so happy. And I was thinking… 'Oh, I can't wait to call Will and tell him the good news.' But before… before they awarded me…"

Erin's tears started to freely flow down her cheeks. "News came… the boat had sunk. There were only… only ten survivors… out of the three hundred plus that were on the ship… and Will… wasn't… one of them…" she choked out.

_Oh, Erin… _Sam hugged her friend, and felt Erin's body tremble. "So that's what you meant… when we were talking that first day you met me after all that time…"

"He was my world," was Erin's answer. Sam just hugged her tighter.

"Erin, I'm so sorry…"

"It's okay…" Erin said quietly. "You… you were right… I needed to talk about it. I blank out a lot… be… because people… say things that remind me of… of what Will would say… I haven't gotten over… over him… even after three years…"

Sam hugged her even tighter. "It's okay…"

"C-Can I show you something that I've never shown anyone else before?" she sniffled, and got off the bed and walked over to where she had hung her backpack. She pulled out her PokeNav. "Before that, I got a really cool update on my P… PokeNav… that can receive video messages. Will… sent me one… before the ship sunk." She pressed a few buttons, and handed it to Sam.

Erin knew it would just hurt her even more to hear Will's voice again; to see his face… but she knew that she had to have someone who knew about her past. Sam held on to the PokeNav, the whitish glow shining on her face.

A guy who looked to be about twenty years old, with sandy hair and emerald green eyes (Sam had to admit, this guy was pretty cute) was looking at the screen, looking calm. "Erin… sweetie…" Erin sniffled. "I don't know how you're going to take this, but the boat is sinking."

While watching, Sam put an arm around Erin. "I don't know all the details, but we can't get out. The Pokemon have been going at it for a long time now. I… I love you, sweetie…" he said with such a familiar gentleness. Sam realized in the next moments that that was how Gary spoke to her. "I'm sure you've won the Sunnyshore ribbon by now, so congratulations." He smiled. "You always amazed me, Erin. Since the start. I just want you to know that I've loved every minute with you, and I'll treasure your memories in my thoughts always."

Erin sniffed again, but she didn't want to stop looking.

On-screen, Will gasped, and the PokeNav shifted a little, showing that the water was already up to his knees. "I… I have to go now, okay? Maybe I can get out, Erin, sweetie… Take care of yourself, and even though it's corny, just remember that I'm always with you." The screen turned black. 'Transmission over' it read.

"I can see why you like him," Sam said softly.

"Yeah…" she smiled through the darkness. "He always thought about me… no matter where we went. You're so lucky… I can see so many similarities in Gary and Will, and you're… just so lucky."

Sam's heart ached for her. "You're lucky, too," Sam reminded her. "Some people don't get the chance to even meet someone like that."

"I guess you're right…" Erin said. "Thanks, Sam…"

(-)

The same shadowy figure laughed as it watched the video that was observing Erin and Sam. "Did you hear that, boy?" it asked the same person who had stated he knew Erin. "Pathetically in love. Please." It got off from its chair, and walked away. "Stand guard tonight. I'm retiring early."

"Yes, master." The door opened as the figure exited the room. A tiny ray of light entered the room and shone a bit of light on the slave, the light glinting off sandy hair and pale, green eyes…

(-)

**Erin's story: REVEALED.**

**I just want to ask you guys something…**

**Those of you who have read the prequel to this, we've all been following Skye and his poor lovelife with Amber and Sam. FRUITLESS relationships. And now, here comes this girl, and he's totally head over heels for her.**

**Problem is, so is the Gym Leader, Roarke.**

**Erin hasn't decided yet, so I'll let YOU guys decide.**

**Are you all for Roarke? Or for Skye?**

PM me or review the answers…

**And… whoa. Is Will still alive? After all this time? Tun-tun-tunnnn…**

**I love my readers! **

**Right, so next chapter should be coming up…**

**Ja~**


	5. Chapter 5

"You look amazing," Gary's eyes practically popped out of his head when Sam stepped out of her room. She was wearing a strapless, black and purple cocktail dress with ruffles around the skirt. Sam's hair was put up in a ponytail that was pulled to the side, courtesy of the Elm twins. She had also borrowed a pair of silver strappy heels from Erin.

Sam twirled around with a grin. "Well, the girls just had to dress me up after you said that this dinner would be 'very important'," she said, stepping forward and hooking her arm in his elbow. "Where are we eating, anyway?" she asked.

"The Blue Moon," Gary said, smiling.

Sam's mouth dropped open. "N-no way. Reservations are impossible to get, Gary. I swear." She blinked. "What's so important about tonight, anyway?"

He wordlessly bent down and kissed the top of her head. "Don't you worry your little head, Sam. You'll find out soon enough."

Minutes later, when the elevator reached the ground floor of the hotel, and located The Blue Moon, a five star restaurant with a good reputation and a cool ambience. Gary opened the door, and let Sam through. He smiled easily at the waiter who was at the podium and held up two fingers. "Oak. I have a reservation for two tonight."

The waiter, and elderly man who reminded Sam of that butler from Batman, smiled at them. He took out a thick, leather bound book and opened it, running a finger down the page as he read the names listed. "Ah. Oak, Gary?" Gary nodded at him. "Alright, follow me, please?" He walked awy from the podium and led them to the back of the restaurant.

She smiled hugely at Gary, and he squeezed her hand. "What is it?" he asked her, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm just happy you're mine," she said, tilting her head to the side. Gary's heart soared, and he smiled lightly at her.

"Same here."

They arrived at a table at the back of the restaurant, a simple table for two with a single rose in a small vase as a center piece. Gary walked ahead of them, and pulled the seat back for Sam. When both of them were seated, the waiter pulled out two menus from a nearby counter, and placed them on the table. "I'm Lewis, and I'll be your server for tonight." He gave them a smile. "May I start off by asking what you would like to drink for tonight?"

While Gary ordered, and while they were eating, thoughts were rushing at a hundred miles per hour in Sam's head. All in all, this was all Sam could ever for. Gary was a wonderful boyfriend who knew everything about her, from what she liked to drink to what she wanted to order. He was a perfect gentleman (something that she almost hadn't expected from him), and he was funny, sweet, and affectionate. One thing Gary had told her a while ago was that he would do anything for her.

And he had proved it.

She always felt that she didn't deserve him. Heck. He was probably the best guy in the world. And of all the girls he met... he chose to love _her_.

"Sam?" Gary broke into her thoughts, just as the waiter was taking away their entree plates. "Are you okay?" he looked genuinely concerned, and she smiled at him.

"Just great, Gary." He smiled at her, and stood up.

"Alright, then. Now that we're done with our dinner..." He stood up and went next to her seat, holding out a hand. "Would you give me the honor of dancing with you?"

She rolled her eyes at his cheesy invitation, but smiled and stood up and took his hand. The Blue Moon was one of those restaurants that had a dance floor in the middle of all the tables, while a pianist and a singer crooned out love songs. He lead her to the center of the dance floor, smiled down at her, and put his hands on her waist, while she placed hers on his shoulders. They swayed to the music, and Sam leaned her head on his chest.

"Thanks for this perfect night, Gary..." Sam said, smiling.

"It's not perfect yet," Gary said, and by his tone, Sam knew he was smiling.

"Why?" she looked up, and saw him gesture to the band.

The pianist nodded, and swiftly played a melody on his piano. Sam smiled. "When I Look At You," she said. "My favorite song."

"And mine, too... Since all my feelings for you are in that song."

They were speechless again as they slow-danced.

Suddenly, Gary stopped dancing, and Sam looked up at him, confused. "What's up?" she rose an eyebrow as he took one step away from her.

A gentle smile played across his face as he took her hands in his. "You know I love you, right?"

"Yes."

"You know that you're everything I could ask for, right?"

Sam blushed. "Yes."

"And you know I would do anything for you, right?"

Sam nodded, wondering where all of this was going. "Of course." He stepped forward and leaned his forhead gently against hers.

"Sam... would you do _one_ thing for me then, please?" he whispered.

"Anything."

He flashed a smile again, although it was kind of a dreamy, half-smile. He stepped backwards, and to Sam's surprised, kneeled down on one knee in front of her.

_Oh my God._ One of Sam's hands flew to her mouth. _Is he going to do what I think he's going to do?_ Her heart started pumping faster than she had ever felt it beat. She noticed, for the first time, that the dance floor had been emptied, and it was just them on the floor.

Gary reached out, and took one of her hands. "Samantha Daniella Stone. Ever since the first time I met you, I knew I loved you. I know it didn't look like that, but you'll have to trust me." Sam grinned at this, and he pressed on, determined. "Sam, I think I was born to be with you. So..." his other hand reached into his pocket and he pulled out a ring box. He flipped it open, and sitting in the box was a beautiful ring, with twin rubies glistening up at her on a silver band.

Sam's heart stopped.

"Sam..." he looked her straight in the eye, all of the love he felt for her in his eyes. "Will you marry me?"

_Oh, Gary..._ Sam felt a hot, prickly sensation at the back of her eyes, and she realized she was getting teary-eyed. "Yes, yes, yes..." she repeated again and again. His eyes lit up, and he took the ring from the box and slipped it on her finger.

Her words caught up in her throat as he stood up and kissed her on the mouth as the people in the restaurant clapped and cheered for them.

"I love you..."

_"Sam! Saaaaam? Sam! Hey!" _

(*)

Sam's eyes flew open as she woke up, cursing every curse that she knew in the book as she felt the dull realization that that was just a _dream_. "Ughhhhhh..." she moaned, and pressed a fluffy purple pillow to her face. Whoever had woken her up from that _marvelous _dream would be getting hell from her.

She felt a presense in the room with her, and she removed the pillow and saw Erin sitting in a chair that was at her desk, facing the bed. Both of the redhead's eyebrows were raised, and there was a smug grin on her face, and Sam wondered what in the world she was thinking about.

"What were you dreaming about, Sam?" Erin asked in a teasing tone.

"I..." Sam groaned and raised herself up from the bed. "Did I say anything while I was asleep?" she asked, ignoring the question.

Erin nodded, and fluttered her eyelashes at Sam. "I quote. 'Yes, yes, yes! I _love _you...'" she said, clasping her hands together and putting on a lovey-dovey expression.

Sam threw a pillow at her. "None of your business," Sam rolled her eyes.

Erin's eyes lit up as she caught the pillow with ease. "I think that you were dreaming about _a certain someone_ proposing! Am I right, or am I right?" she said, crossing her arms over her chest, looking smug.

Sam sighed, and looked defeated. "So _what_ if that's what my dream was?" she grunted out.

"Awww... that's so sweet!" Erin sighed. "How did he do it?"

"I... It's... ugh... none of your business!" Sam screamed, and threw more pillows at Erin while the latter dodged and laughed.

"Although..." Erin put a finger on her lips as she thought. "The girls and I _are_ wondering why he hasn't popped the question yet. You two _have_ been going out for almost more than three years. That's long."

"Erin!" Sam's face was red. "I'm twenty years old! I'm not ready to get married _now_! And besides! Three years isn't _that_ long-" _Although I wouldn't mind if Gary showed at least a little thought that he wants to marry me..._ Sam finished the thought in her head.

"Oh, poo." Erin waved a hand dismissively. "He_ will_ propose to you. Just not now."

Desperate to change the subject, Sam remembered what had happened last night and looked concerned. "Are you feeling okay, Erin?"

Erin rolled her eyes. "Nice way to change the subject, Samantha," Erin said.

"No. I'm serious." Sam recalled the conversations the two had had last night. About Will... and him dying... and how much Erin loved him. "Erin, are you alright?"

Erin looked to the side, and wouldn't look Sam in the eye. "I... I'm glad we talked about that. I mean, I needed to get it off my chest, you know? But... I probably... I think I can move on."

Sam didn't think that Erin was telling the truth, but she let it slide. There were times, she knew, that she shouldn't push anything. "Alright..." she smiled thinly at Erin.

"Excuse me for a sec," Erin said quickly, and flashed a smile at Sam as she exited the room.

(*)

_My Plans on Winning Erin Hunter's Heart_

_1. Introduce her to my Pokemon_

_2. Take her out to dinner._

_3. Try to get interested in the same things she's interested in._

_4. Be sincere with my feelings_

_5. DO NOT MESS THIS UP!_

"What the heck are you writing?"

Skye jumped as he heard Gary's voice right behind him, and he covered his paper, acting like a kid who didn't want to get cheated on. Gary chuckled.

"Chill, Skylar. I didn't see anything."

Skye breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Except the title."

Skye cursed.

"Don't worry, I won't tell," Gary said, and shrugged. "I'm really not one for butting into other's lovelives. Except for Sam's, of course."

"Tell me something, Gary... how _did_ you get someone like... like Sam?" Skye looked a bit embarrassed at the question, but Gary didn't seem to notice.

"You mean, what did I do?" Gary asked him. "Simple." He snatched the paper Skye was writing on, and added a number 6 to the list. He handed it back to Skye.

_6. Just be yourself._

"You're not going to mess it up if you're yourself, Skye. Heck. Sam loved me back then even though I was an arrogant, selfish brat, so why wouldn't Erin like _you_?"

"Hmm... Why _wouldn't _she like me? Maybe because she's probably in love with... with... with some creepy, helmeted, _miner_?" Skye hissed out.

**(A/N: the 'creepy, helmeted, miner' dig came from Serpent's Ballet, who mentioned it in her reviews. Seeing that it would be 'so Skye' to say that, I included it in here. Credits to her for that description! And she's Skye's creator, anyway, soo. Anyway. On with the story.)**

Gary bit back a laugh. "Well, he has a lot in common with her."

"Like I don't know that."

"Find something that _you_ have in common with _her_," Gary said, shrugging, before leaving the room.

_Like WHAT_?

(*)

"Knock, knock," Gary's voice came from outside Sam and Erin's room. With a huge smile on her face, Sam leaped off the couch and skipped to the door, opening it.

"Hi!" she smiled, and squealed when he came in, and suddenly hugged her, lifting her off the floor and spun around. "What's up with _y_ou?" Sam asked, while laughing.

Before he could answer, Erin breezed out of her room, dressed up in a pair of skinny jeans and a light blue blouse on. "Skye just called, Sammie, he asked me out. We're going to check out his Altaria. I'll be back whenever," she said, ignoring the identical evil, teasing grins on Sam and Gary's faces. "Oh, Gary? I'd ask Sam what she dreamed about last night if I were you," Erin added before she went out.

Gary looked at Sam and raised his eyebrows. "Hmm?"

Sam, face beet red, shook her head. "Oh, it was nothing!" she said, waving her arms around.

"Oh, come on, Sam." He leaned close to her face. "Please?"

"It was a stupid dream, anyway," Sam grumbled, crossing her arms and refusing to look at Gary.

"Pleeeeease?" he asked, in a sing-songy voice.

"Propose. You. The Blue Moon." Sam grunted out, waiting for his reaction.

Gary was speechless for a few seconds, and then he grinned and pinched her cheeks. "Awwww... that's _adorable_," he said.

She slapped away his hand. "It is not adorable," she said, disgruntled.

Gary really knew Sam, and he knew that she was embarrassed - because she wanted it to be true. His expression softened, and he tilted his head, smiling at her. "Sam. Don't you remember I asked your mom three years ago if I could spend the rest of eternity with you?"

She didn't answer, but simply looked at him.

"I will _always_ love you, Sam. As long as I live." He leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips.

"I love you too, Gary," Sam said quietly.

Gary knew, in that second, what he knew he had to do. He smiled at her, and he stepped away and disappeared into the kitchen. Sam, rooted to the spot, listened as he rummaged through some drawers in the kitchen for a few minutes. Then, she finally heard a drawer close, and he came out again.

"What were you doing, Gary?" Sam asked him, curious.

"You don't believe me, don't you?" Gary asked her, not unkindly. In fact, he was smiling at her. "You think I don't love you as much as I say I do, hm?"

"Gary-"

He raised his eyebrows.

"Kinda?" Sam's face flushed, and she held up her hands. "Wait, no, I meant... I mean that... Oh, Gary, this is coming out all wrong, I'm sorry! I didn't..." she just shut up.

Instead of getting mad, or even a little annoyed, like Sam expected, he smiled. "I know how to prove it to you."

He knelt down on one knee.

"Gary!" she squeaked. "Wait, wait, wait, I'm too _young_ to get married, Gary!"

Ignoring her protests, Gary spoke. "Sam. I _promise_ that I will love you forever. And trust me, I'm not ready to get married, either. So... I promise that..." he took her hand and squeezed it, smiling. "I promise that I will never let you go. I promise that someday... someday, I'm going to propose to you. Someday, I'm going to kneel down in front of you with a real ring, and give you your dream proposal."

"Gary..." Sam said, smiling in spite of herself.

"So... will you accept my promise to be true to you and to love you for the rest of my life?" he smiled. "It's kind of like a proposal, but-"

"Alright... Gary," she said, smiling. "That's the best thing anyone has ever said to me. The _sweetest_, too. Gary, I promise, too... to be true to you forever, to love you forever, too."

Gary had a little smirk on his face, and he reached into his pocket. Sam wasn't expecting a ring or anything, but she was surprised when he pulled out a piece of purple ribbon. "Gary, what-"

He wrapped the ribbon around her finger, and tied it securely in place. "Just a reminder of my promise to you," he explained, and stood up to kiss her.

(*)

Erin and Skye smiled as they stood outside the door. Erin had 'forgotten' her sweater, although she didn't need one. "Oh..." Erin smiled. "That was so sweet."

Skye just smiled. "So. When are you going to go inside and get your jacket?"

She gave him an evil grin. "Well, I guess I don't _really_ need a jacket..." she said, laughing.

"You wanted to come back on _purpose_," Skye said, awed. "Which makes me think that you had something to do with this in the first place."

"I might have..." Erin shrugged. Then she smiled at him. "Skye, let's just get moving now. I took a lot of your time..." she looked a bit embarrassed. "I'm sorry."

Skye smiled. "It's okay. I..." he blushed a bit. "I like seeing you smile," he blurted out, Gary's voice echoing in his head, saying 'be yourself... be yourself...'.

Erin blushed at the unexpected compliment. "Uh... thanks, Skye!" she said, smiling.

(*)

Phoebe watched from inside the house as her _beloved_ husband was watching Zoey and her little friends playing in the yard. Steven, for the past week was practically camping out in the front yard, since he would not, under any terms, let the Pokemon inside the house. "Those thug-like Pokemon will wreck the house!" Steven had said - screamed, anyway.

The Ghost Pokemon expert rolled her eyes. Seriously, calling an Igglybuff a 'thug' was probably a little too much.

Zoey, meanwhile, was happily tossing a ball around, and letting the Pokemon chase after it. Sam's Straravia, who was known as the boss amongst Zoey's Pokemon, watched over all of them. "Awright..." Zoey, looking totally concentrated, threw the ball as hard as she could. "Get it, get it!" she squealed happily.

The Pokemon practically ran over each other as they ran for the ball. In the end, Vulpix got a hold of it in her mouth, and pranced proudly back to Zoey, head high. "Very good, Pixie!" Zoey clapped her hands. "Again!"

Steven smiled despite his feelings of animosity towards these Pokemon, since Zoey was having fun. He leaned back in the chair he had dragged out front, and relaxed for the first time in a while.

(*)

Skye almost sighed dreamily as his Altaria took an immediate liking to Erin, who patted Altaria on the head and started brushing his wings. "He likes you," he stated. Altaria looked at Skye with a 'no, _duh_' look. Erin smiled. "You think so?" she smiled.

"Nah. I know so." Skye grinned at her. They were outside of the Hotel, in a little park where other Pokemon were milling around, including Sidney's Cacturne, Winona's Skarmory, Mason's Fearrow, and Roarke's Cranidos (Skye: _Grr..._).

Erin flashed him a quick grin, and Skye felt his heart skip a couple beats or more before he could smile back at her. _Erin..._ he thought wistfully.

"Oh, _Erin~_!"

Skye groaned.

"Oh, we're not interrupting anything, are we?" the Elm twins practically skidded to a stop in front of the couple, identical smirks on their faces. Topaz rose an eyebrow.

"Oh, nothing," Erin said, and smiled at the twins. "What are you guys doing here, anyway?"

"Visiting my baby, of course!" Amber said, smiling and spotting something over Erin's shoulder. "Ohhh, _there_ they are!" she called out to a group of little baby Pokemon huddling over in a corner - herds of Igglybuff, Pichu, Cleffa, Vulpix and Budew. One Igglybuff bounced up and down when Amber approached the group, and Erin assumed that it was hers.

"Mason gave her an Igglybuff for her last birthday," Topaz explained, seeing Skye and Erin's confused looks. "James gave _me_ a Snorunt."

"Nice," Skye said, and smiled at Topaz, noting the way her eyes lit up, and made her act a little out of character.

Erin noticed it, too. _Everyone's terribly in love, especially Sam and Gary. I'm just... _she sighed.

(*)

_**"Come here." The shadowy figure beckoned, and two, short individuals approached. "What is your report on the subjects?"**_

_**"Everyone is acting normally, Master," a feminine robotic voice answered.**_

_**"Nothing out of the ordinary - at all," a masculine robotic voice added.**_

_**"What are their plans?"**_

_**"Winona and Wallace are hosting a dinner tonight. To celebrate their engagement."**_

_**There was a long, sinister laugh that echoed around the room.**_

_**"Good. Tell him to get dressed. He's going to make an appearance."**_

(*)

_"Where is that overgrown caterpillar and the reindeer wannabe?"_

_"Overgrown caterpillar? Kind of harsh, don't you think?"_

_The Legendaries were gathered around for the first time in a long time. Moltres had snorted out the first line, while an amused Articuno had asked the second question._

_"Oh, Moltres..." Mewtwo chided gently with his deep voice, "It's their first time to be with us, you could be a little bit nicer..." _

_"Come to think of it, a lot of Legendaries are going to join us for the first time today," Entei said in a rumbling voice._

_"I know that it's their first time, but the last Sinnoh legendaries made me a bit bitter towards new additions," Moltres sighed, and 'discreetly' cast a look at the Pokemon duo between Raikou and Groudon._

_Palkia and Dialga, their snotty attitude nullified by the episode three years ago, were comfortably sitting in circle around the group. Though they were mostly seen fighting each other, once they settled their differences, they were actually quite gentle. _

_Hah._

_"Let's see..." Suicune said softly, trying to think of the Legendaries that had yet to appear, "Giratina..."_

_"Overgrown caterpillar," Moltres said, chuckling a bit._

_"Arceus..."_

_"Reindeer wannabe."_

_"Creselia..."_

_"The pink sandman..."_

_"Darkrai..."_

_"He just freaks me out," Moltres said, shivering._

_"Aw, Moltres, just be quiet," Zapdos sighed._

_"Fine, fine. Commentary from me shall cease," Moltres replied, folding in her wings._

_Suicune, fighting back a smile, continued. "Regirock, Regice, Registeel, Regigigas... Uxie, Mespirit, and Azelf... Phione... Shaymin... Hmmm... can you guys thnk of any others?"_

_"Come to think of it, the Pokemon from the Unova region are kinda silent. I haven't heard from anyone from there," Articuno said, frowning._

_Suddenly, the ground shook, and a portal opened somewhere behind Lugia, who, shocked, backed away from the portal immediately._

_Palkia sighed, knowing that portal anywhere. "Here comes the mighty Giratina..."_

_Another portal opened, and Dialga also sighed, nearly mimicking Palkia. "Arceus..."_

_The two Pokemon entered the room at the same time, and silence entered with them. Jirachi floated over to Arceus. "Hello."_

_Something that could be considered a smile crossed Arceus' face. "Hello, little one."_

_Mewtwo looked at the two with indifference, but warmth spread from his voice. "Welcome."_

_Giratina looked around the circle, and stopped when his eyes settled on Dialga and Palkia. "So, you two are here."_

_"You are, too," Palkia pointed out. _

_"E-hem," Groudon coughed, sensing a little bit of animosity between the two. "Giratina, Arceus. Pleasure to meet you."_

_"Yes... please sit down, find a comfortable space somewhere, and we can start the meeting." Kyogre said in a soft voice._

_Arceus complied, and found a space big enough for him in between Deoxys and Entei. Giratina decided on sitting next to Zapdos. "Before you start, I think it would be wise to tell you that Creselia and Darkrai are planning on being present."_

_"Oh, goody," Articuno said. Moltres flashed him a 'look'. To that, Articuno stopped smiling stupidly._

_Most of the (male) Legendaries thought that Creselia was an awesome legendary. For the girls, Creselia was bearable, and also quite pretty and calming. _

_And besides that, Articuno and Moltres were in an 'understanding' about their feelings for each other, and the latter didn't need competition._

_"Darkrai's creepy," Jirachi complained, true to his childish self._

_"True," Manaphy chirped._

_"Oh, of course the children Pokemon feel a bit scared of the nightmare Pokemon," Zapdos chuckled. "Darkrai's actually pretty cool."_

_"And you would know... why?" Articuno cast Zapdos an amused look._

_"Well. I have been to his island a few times. I mean, I have to rest a bit too, right?" Zapdos said defensively._

_"Ooh, Zapdos likes bad boys," Raikou grinned suggestively._

_"You are all acting like hormonal teenagers," Lugia chuckled. _

_The children Legendaries (Manaphy, Mew, Celebi and Jirachi) looked at each other when there was a slight mention that there was a possibility that Zapdos and Darkrai... "Ew!" Celebi squealed._

(*)

"_Saaaaaaam_!" Amber pounded repeatedly on the door shared by Erin and Sam. "ERIN! You guys ready? We have to get downstairs for the dinner already!"

Amber and Topaz were wearing cocktail dresses in shades of dark blue (Topaz) and pink (Amber). Both of the dresses were strapless, but Amber's dress was a bubble skirt, while Topaz's hugged her hips. The torso of Topaz's dress was sparkled with diamonds, giving the illusion of a night sky, while black fabric criss-crossed against Amber's back.

The guys were outside, wearing dress pants and polo's of different colors and designs (and in Gary's case, a tie), waiting for Sam and Erin.

The door opened, and Erin was wearing a nice spaghetti-strapped cocktail dress in a dark green, which accented her red hair. Sam walked out in a sleeveless dress that barely reached her knees and was a shade of red.

"Why aren't you wearing purple?" Gary teased her. "It would've matched your ring."

At the mention of a ring, everyone (except for Erin and Skye, who knew about that from the start) looked at Sam's hands and saw the ribbon.

"OHMYGOD!" Amber practically screamed. "You guys are getting ma-"

Sam promptly hit Amber on the arm, silencing her. "It's not what you think," she said, sighing. "Gary!"

"What?" He shrugged. "I'm just concerned about your wardrobe. Jeez." He smirked, and walked ahead of Sam, towards the elevator. Sam sighed again, and followed him.

Topaz, James, Mason and Amber shook their heads, and followed.

Skye, however, was just captivated by the look of Erin. "You... you're beautiful," Skye said quickly, stuttering over the words.

"Thanks," Erin said, smiling radiantly at him. "Should we follow them?"

"Sure," He said, and offered his arm to her.

(*)

_"Anyway..." Articuno, self-proclaimed leader of the group, got everyone's attention. "We're here because we have not, for reasons that escape me, met with Skylar Storne, the Spirit Sage."_

_"It's because we were tired, right?"_

_Ignoring Jirachi's question, Articuno plowed on. "So, we must talk to each other now. Should we go now?" _

_"Is the boy in question ready for us?" Arceus asked._

_"We have yet to find out, Arceus," Mewtwo answered. "But we shouldn't overwhelm him, for one thing."_

_"So... sending someone like Giratina would be out of the question, in other words," Groudon grumbled._

_"I see," Giratina said in a low voice._

_The room rumbled a little, and Giratina and Arceus, new to this, were visibly panicked. "What's going on?" Arceus asked._

_Everyone else was staying calm, though. "Darkrai and Creselia, probably..." Mewtwo said, shaking it off._

_"But if it's just the two of them, why are they making such a racket?" Ho-oh asked, a bit annoyed._

_"I think it's more than two..." Lugia said mysteriously._

_A huge portal opened in the middle of the room in the next five seconds, and Darkrai stepped out. "Are we late?" he said in a low voice. _

_"We just started," Rayquaza said. "Find a spot to sit." Darkrai floated immediately over to Zapdos, and nodded._

_Then, the Regis stepped out of the portal. "Sorry if we were a bit loud," Regirock said in a surprisingly soft voice._

_"Oh, it was nothing, really. We're used to it," Articuno assured the Regi. "Come in, come in. Sit."_

_The Regis sat behind Rayquaza, seeing as it was getting a bit crowded. "Now, are we all here, or-"_

_"I'm here! Wait!"_

_Moltres groaned inwardly - she really, really, had hoped that Creselia wouldn't be able to come. _

_Creselia floated out of the portal just before it closed, capturing everyone's attention. "Sorry, I just had to give this girl a really sweet dream. I mean, she's in love. I couldn't help it," she said in a soft, feminine voice. _

_Darkrai called over to her. "Cressie, come over here." _

_"E-hem..." Articuno cleared his throat. "Alright so... should we send someone? To formally induct Skylar?"_

_"I say we should," Dialga said, surprising everyone._

_"Agreed," Moltres nodded._

_"Ditto," Groudon grumbled._

_"I speak for the three of us when I say that we agree," Regice said._

_Everyone said that they agreed._

_"But the question is, who do we send?" Rayquaza asked._

_"Excuse me, I'm a bit new to this. Would someone explain to me why we must send someone?" Darkrai asked._

_"Alright, so... I'm sure you know about the Spirit Sage's powers. Right? Well, to activate them, he or she must come in contact with one Legendary. The thing is, we can't send someone who is overly powerful or anything. We might overwhelm Skye. When we sent Jirachi, it was enough to knock out Sam for twenty-four hours," Moltres explained._

_"So... preferrably, one of the babies," Arceus said softly, casting a glance at Manaphy, Celebi, Jirachi and Mew._

_"Can someone tell us if Shaymin's coming? 'Cause we haven't seen him in a while," Manaphy said, blinking cutely at them._

_"Oh, how innocent," Creselia said._

_"Alright... so who do we send, among the four of them?" Articuno asked rhetorically, also looking at the four._

_"Can it not be me?" Jirachi asked. "Please?"_

_"Fine, among the four of them..." Moltres said. _

_"I think Mew would be good..." Giratina said._

_"Yes, nothing personal against the others, but Mew would actually be a really good first," Mewtwo mused._

_"Mew?" Mew moved around in circles above their heads._

(*)

The ballroom was elegantly decorated, and the various Gym leaders and Elite four members milled around the ballroom, dressed also to the nines. (Yes, I know nobody says that. Or do they? haha.)

"Welcome," Glacia greeted them, dressed in a long purple dress, not unlike her usual attire, yet more dressy. "Just pick a table. If I were you, I would pick the table nearest the buffet table, for the obvious reasons." She winked, and floated towards the next guests to have arrived, which were a pair of Unova gym leaders.

Mason grinned at James. "Race you to the table with the roses on 'em. Since it is the table closest to the buffet table."

"Oh, come on," Topaz sighed, face-palming. "Please don't-"

"ReadygetsetGO!" Mason laughed and sped away with James.

"-act like children..." Topaz murmured. But she smiled in spite of herself.

"Hey, are you going to join-"

"Erin! Hey!"

Erin's attention slipped off Skye and onto the helmeted miner, who had waved and called to her from a table a few tables away from the one Mason and James had claimed. Roarke was seated with Falkner, Clare, and a few other gym leaders. A chair was reserved for her on the right of Roarke.

"Uh, Skye, I have to..." she smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah... just go," he smiled back. "But don't go over to the dark side."

She giggled, and walked over towards the table, where she was greeted warmly.

"That's alright, Skylar," Sam said, as he joined them at the table, Erin-less. "You'll get her eventually."

"Not unless that miner gets her first," Skye pointed out, and frowned.

Luckily, Wallace and Winona had stepped on to the little platform that had been raised up, and were tapping glasses to silence everyone. Wallace spoke first. "Okay, so I guess I don't have to tell everyone why we're all here tonight..."

Chuckles echoed throughout the room.

"But I just want to thank all of you for your support, and for being with us here tonight."

Everyone applauded, and Winona smiled. Wallace looked at the girl he had loved probably since the first time he saw her, and enveloped her in a half-hug.

"So... now we go to the most awaited part of tonight... dinner!" Wallace threw out an arm, and true to Wallace fashion, water fountains sprung to life around the buffet table and around the room, courtesy of his beloved Pokemon.

Chatter resumed throughout the room, and everyone filled themselves while talking about random things...

"Alright, so this guy has an Alakazam, right? And he keeps on blocking me with this killer Light Screen and then when I hit him, uses Recover! So then..."

"Oh, but Gengar's a great Pokemon to use in contests! The Shadow Ball is just the pinnacle of darkness..."

"Hmmm... I think that Brock might as well be the most idiotic playboy in this century."

"But he's actually quite nice."

"True, but those lines..."

Erin and Roarke were talking about fossils.

Gary and Sam were talking about how they were going to win their next badges, and talking about the Unova region.

Skye was... watching Erin.

_Damnit! I know that she likes him... and they get along really well together. This is... this is just so unfair!_

He was watching Erin laugh, relishing in her happiness, when suddenly all of that disappeared from her face. "Erin?" He could hear Roarke calling her, waving a hand in front of her face.

Skye felt a sick feeling in his stomach. Erin had paled, and it looked like all of the life had been sucked out of her as she stared blankly at a spot near the door.

"Erin!" Sam had also noticed, purely by chance. Her heart sped up as she saw Erin's face change. _Oh, please don't let her have one of those flashbacks_, Sam pleaded.

Erin slowly got up from her chair, and moved quickly towards the exit, tears escaping from her eyes. Sam and Skye both stood up, worried for their friend. "Erin! Wait!" Skye tried to follow her.

Sam, however, followed Erin's line of sight.

And her eyes widened. _But... that's not possible._

Will. Will was standing by the door. Leaning against the door frame, looking at everyone but the girl who was running towards him.

"W-Will!" Erin's voice was lost in the music, the crowd. Tears fell down from her eyes, dripping down her face. Skye and Sam were following Erin, Gary closely behind Sam, wondering what in the world was going on.

When they were about ten feet away from Will, two things happened at once.

Three things, actually.

"Oh, Arceus! It's Mew!" Someone - A gym leader - called out, as Mew appeared near the ceilling. Sam remembered a little too late what would happen should a Legendary Pokemon come near a Spirit Sage.

"My... head..." Skye murmured, clutching his head.

"Skye!" Sam yelped. "Gary, get Skye down, he's going to collapse!" Sam turned towards the door. "Erin!"

Erin and Will had finally caught eyes. Will let out a little sigh, and walked away from the door, and before Erin could follow him, the door mysteriously closed and locked itself. She threw herself against the door, tears pouring from her eyes. "Will!" Sam caught up to Erin, and tried pulling her away from the door.

"Hang in there, Skye," Gary murmured, oblivious to Erin's scene near the door.

"Mmmm..." Skye let out a groan, and before he closed his eyes, Gary saw his eyes, pupil, whites and all, turn gold.

(*)

**Oh my God. I leave everyone for what, a year? And I leave you with this crap. hahaha. Is it alright?**

**Words cannot describe why I haven't written in so long. So I ask for forgiveness. :D **

**Anyways, I'm already in college, and writing is getting a bit hard, seeing as our exams are coming up. But in all reality, I'm doing my best.**

**Drama, drama, drama, drama. Skye FINALLY gets his Spirit Sage on, Erin and Will? Oooh. And Moltres is a little tad jealous of a certain Psychic Legendary.**

**And I'm having a little bit of fun with my Legendary Pokemon pairings. I mean, CreseliaxArticunoxMoltres? ZapdosxDarkrai? What's next, a GroudonxKyogre pairing? Oh, Arceus forbid. :P **

**So, I'm off now! Hope you enjoyed this. Read and Review, if you love meh. :) **

**Ja~ **


	6. Chapter 6

_"He's awake! He's awake!" _

_"Jirachi! Hush! You'll annoy him!"_

_"Aww, he's awake already, stop making a big deal about it."_

What... Are these voices in my head? _Skye's eyes flickered once, twice, and they slowly opened. "Uhnnn." His eyes were still adjusting to the light, and all he could see were colorful blobs in light blue, yellow, green, and pink._

_"Step away, guys, give him space!" a loud voice coming from somewhere to his left commanded the blurry, colorful shapes. He shook his head a little, feeling woozy, and then he was able to focus a little bit more on the Pokemon surrounding him. _

_His eyebrows rose immediately. He was completely surrounded by legendary Pokemon. Heck. There were some he didn't even know existed. There were more here, possibly more than the time when Sam was Spirit Sage._

_"Hi, Skylar!" the whole lot chorused._

_"Uh... Hi?"_

_(*)_

Meanwhile, in the real world, everything had just exploded into a big mess.

Sam, for some weird reason unknown to all, had passed out almost five minutes after Skye had passed out, leaving a stunned, bewildered Erin pounding on the door.

Erin, shocked by that, dissolved into even _more_ tears.

Gary had forgotten about Skye the minute that Sam went down, leaving Skye in the hands of James and Mason, who had followed Gary. "Please not again, please not again, oh damnit, _please _not again."

An immediate uproar followed, even though most of the people present were completely mature adults, it turned into chaos as everyone tried to figure out what was happening.

Wallace, being Wallace, did the only thing he knew how to do in emergencies.

He took charge.

"Winona, are there any rooms available on the ground floor, or somewhere near here?"

Winona's eyebrows furrowed. "Yes, Wallace. Suite 5. And 6."

"Good." He smiled. "Alright, James and Mason, you bring Skye to Suite 5. Watch over him. Note if anything strange has happened." The two nodded, and started carrying (almost dragging) Skye towards the room. "Sidney, please contact Steven and Phoebe, tell them to come over here today. Tell them I needed them yesterday. They can bring Zoey if they want to, just tell them to get here pronto."

"Sure thing, Wallace," Sidney said, shrugging, and brought out his PokeNav.

"Amber, Topaz?"

"Wallace?" The twins looked at him. They were comforting Erin, who was just lying on the floor having a meltdown.

"Bring Erin to her room," he said softly, noticing how distraught the redhead was. "Comfort her."

"What about Sam?" Amber asked him, fear clouding her eyes. "And Skye?"

"You can check on them later," Wallace assured her.

"Gary, you bring Sam to Suite 6. You know the drill. Winona, you go with him."

Gary nodded, and carried Sam bridal-style towards the suite, while Winona followed him.

Wallace rubbed the area between his eyebrows, and breathed out slowly. _Meanwhile, I am going to see what was so important about that boy standing in the doorway. There's something fishy going on here._

(*)

_"...and Palkia and Dialga and Shaymin and Regice and Regirock and Registeel and Reshiram and Zekrom and Darkrai and Arceus and Giratina and-"_

_Skye was starting to get dizzy with all the new legendaries, who were just staring at him, some smiling, expecting him to remember their names while Jirachi just rattled on and on and on and on..._

_"I think he gets it, sweetie," Cresselia said in a sweet voice, and smiled at Jirachi._

_"And Cresselia!"_

_"Are you done yet?" Articuno asked politely._

_Jirachi, suddenly very bashful, nodded._

_"Well then, hello, Skylar. Welcome to the space inside of your head where everyone meets every once in a while."_

_"And you better get used to it, since it's going to happen a lot from now on," a wry voice said from behind Articuno._

_Everyone turned around to see Sam and Arianne standing before them, Arianne looking regal yet warm, and Sam's purple eyes sparkling. _

_"Sam!" Moltres cried out. Everyone crowded towards them, and Skye squeezed himself through._

_"Glad to see you here, Skylar," Arianne said, nodding. "You're the first ever _male_ Spirit Sage, I'll have you know."_

_"What an honor," he said, smiling._

_"Mom." Sam sounded impatient now. "So, now we've been all nice and hostess-y, and welcoming Skylar as a Spirit Sage is now complete. Can I go back now?"_

_"Why are you in such a hurry, Sam?" Celebi asked, flying around her head. "Didn't you miss us?"_

_Her expression was softened, and she reached out to give Celebi a hug. "Oh, no, it's just that Gary's probably going nuts out there... I mean, I just collapsed on him and-" she gasped. "Oh Arceus!" she exclaimed. "I completely forgot about Erin!"_

_Skye remembered. "Erin... Sam, what happened back there?" he couldn't forget how in pain Erin looked... How sad she was... How he'd just love to wipe the tears off of her face._

_Sam opened her mouth, then stopped, as if reconsidering what she was about to tell him, and closed it again. "I think it's something that Erin should tell you."_

_"Right." Skye was silent._

_"Anyways, Skye, you'll find yourself traveling back and forth from here in your mind," Arianne said. "When you go to sleep, when you faint, you'll come here most of the time. I guess you know how the room works, right?"_

_"Yeah, Sam explained it to me once upon a time," Skye said, not mentioning that his knowledge about this room was lacking. He only noticed that Sam was getting a bit antsy, wanting to go ahead. "You can go ahead, Sam."_

_"See, mom-"_

_Arianne held up a hand. "You two can go ahead _together._ I can sense that both of you are needed in the real world. Take care, both of you." She then kissed Sam on the forehead._

_"Bye, mom!" Sam waved at Arianne, and closed her eyes, visualizing herself outside._

_"Wait, wait, how do I wake up?" _

_Sam chuckled at Skye's befuddled tone before she disappeared._

(*)

Gary noticed Sam's eyes twitching a few moments before her purple eyes flew wide open. "Thank goodness," Gary said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"How long was I out?" Sam asked, getting into a sitting position. "I didn't cause a stir, did I?"

"Let's just say that it made our engagement party more interesting," Winona said, and Sam turned and saw the Flying-type gym leader sitting on a chair near the door. Her eyes twinkled. "You had us worried a bit, Sam."

"I didn't even know I was going to collapse like that," Sam admitted. "Mom didn't even think to warn me."

"I'm just glad you're alright, Sam," Gary said gently, and kissed the top of her forehead.

Suddenly the door opened and James came in. "Skye woke up."

"Took him a while," Sam scoffed.

Skye followed James into the room. "Took me a while since _somebody _didn't tell me beforehand how to wake up," he said through narrowed eyes.

"Don't get your jeans in a knot," Sam said, smirking. "Anyways, did you finally figure it out?"

"I did," he said defensively.

Mason stood by the doorway. "Sam, Amber told me to tell you that Erin's looking for you."

"Erin!" Sam stood up, and rushed towards Mason. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah," Mason said. "A bit shaken, but I guess she's fine." he smiled. "You should go and see her."

"I will," Sam said. "Gary?"

"I'll come get you in a while. Wallace wanted to talk with me earlier," he said. "Go on ahead."

She smiled. "Well... Alright."

(*)

**"You weren't supposed to do that."**

**Shadows danced across the room as Will knelt angrily before a chair that was turned around.**

**"We had a deal So-"**

**"Did I not tell you not to call me by my name?" a voice said from the chair. "And deals are deals. Remember, who's debt are you in?"**

**Silence came from Will's part.**

**"Answer me."**

**"You."**

**"And who do you serve?"**

**"You," Will said softly, only it was more resentful. **

**"Remember that." **

**Cold blue eyes glinted in the moonlight.**

(*)

The door creaked open and Sam stepped in, noting that Erin was lying supine on the couch in their living room, and Amber and Topaz were hovering around Erin like two anxious nurses... All eyes were on her the minute she stepped in.

"Sam!" the twins chorused, while not leaving Erin's side.

Erin merely looked at Sam - the latter winced. Erin was as white as a sheet. "You saw him, right?" her voice was scratchy and hoarse.

"I did, Erin," Sam said, as soothing as possible. "Don't worry, it was just... Uh..."

"It was _him_," Erin insisted, pleading Sam to believe her with her very blue eyes. "It had to be him, Sam, I'm not crazy or anything, but I-"

"Shh, shh," Sam sat down next to Erin, and rubbed her back, sensing that Erin was on the verge of another breakdown. "Erin, we're going to find some explanation for this, okay?"

Erin's eyes filled with tears, and it took all of Sam's power not to cry with her. (Sam was very emotional, sometimes)

"Wallace and Gary are gonna figure it out, okay? And we'll help," Sam said, gesturing to the twins, who nodded eagerly. "We're going to get to the bottom of this for sure, Erin." She tried to give Erin a reassuring smile.

Erin was silent for a few seconds, and the trio decided not to say anything.

"B-But Sam..." Erin's voice came out as a whimper. "Sam, I... I..."

Understanding purple eyes met the scared blue ones, and Erin closed her eyes, tears spilling out. "Why didn't he recognize me?" she cried out, curling up fetus style on the couch, and shaking, the sobs racking through her body. "He looked s-straight into my eyes and h-he walked a-away from me, S-Sam! H-How could he d-do this t-to me?"

"I don't know, Erin..." Sam whispered as she tried to wrap her arms around the poor girl. "I really don't know."

(*)

"So according to Sam, that boy was a previous boyfriend of Erin's, who supposedly died in that tragedy of the boat going to the Battle Frontier a few years ago?" Winona asked Gary for clarification. Hoenn's Elite Four, Winona, Wallace, Gary, Mason and James were meeting in Suite 6 to talk about the incident. Skye had gone upstairs to comfort Erin and see if she was alright. He was also hoping that a certain helmeted miner hadn't gotten to her first.

Erin had given Sam permission to tell the others the whole story between Will and her, so that they could solve the mystery on why this said boy was still alive and walking.

Gary nodded. "Hard to believe, but... I really don't know."

"I remember that day so well," Wallace mused, a hand on his chin. "I was having a battle with this one trainer... 'Patrick', Patrick something from Rustboro... I remember him so well because he was good. And then all of the sudden, someone comes rushing into my gym and tells us the bad news, and the guy just breaks down."

"Pretty hard news," Sidney commented from the door.

"No kidding," Mason said softly.

"But what I also remember is that there were 'no bodies recovered'," Wallace said, mouth in a straight line.

"Which means there's a possibility that he was saved - a long shot, but it's still better than the theory that he just rose from the dead," Glacia pointed out.

"The thing that's bugging me," Winona spoke up again, "Is that this island is closed to the public. Only gym leaders and the Elite Four are allowed to be here - with the exception of you guys," she looked at Gary, Mason and James. "He isn't supposed to be here, dead _or_ alive."

"You're right," Wallace said, straightening up a little. "That's gotta be something to look into."

"And the way the door locked all of the sudden," James reminded them. "What are the master locks for those doors?"

"We have a lot to deal with tomorrow," Winona said wearily.

"Let's just wait for Steven. And I think he'll be impressed with the fact that Skye has already made progress."

Gary was silent, debating with himself whether to tell them about Tate and Liza.

"Gary?" Mason poked him. "You okay?"

"What? Oh, nothing," Gary said hastily, thinking that he didn't have enough proof or evidence to actually prove that Tate and Liza were either being impersonated or faking their illness.

James grinned, misreading Gary's absentmindedness. "Just can't get Sam out of your head, hm?"

The tenseness in the room immediately faded, and Sidney had a wide grin on his face. "You guys are old enough to get married, right? Why don't you?"

Gary blushed crimson. "I'm... We're just not ready yet, that's all," he protested. "Sam and I are way too young-"

"Oh, _pshhhh_," Sidney waved his hands around. "Nothing as ridiculous as the 'we're too young' excuse."

(*)

"Mmm..." Erin felt a warm spot on her forehead, and, grunting, she squeezed her eyes open, trying to find the source of the heat. She had fallen asleep on the couch, and it seemed like no one had the heart to wake her up from her dreamless sleep. One of the curtains had opened a little, and had let some light shine on her face. _Well, I guess that was a sign for me to wake up already. _She sat up, and noted that the clock read almost a quarter past nine. She sighed. _Sam's probably up already. _She stretched, and that was when she noticed a figure, slumped near a table that had been propped up next to the couch, sound asleep.

_Skye?_ His shock of blonde hair belonged to no one else. She didn't know what to think as she noticed his uncomfortable position, lack of a jacket when Erin felt like she needed about two quilts and a sweater since the air conditioning was on, and the absense of a pillow. She sighed, got up, and walked over to him, a quilt in hand, as she tucked him in - despite his almost sitting position, and smiled at his baby-like features as he slept.

_There's probably some bread around here, somewhere... _She mused as she looked around the kitchen. A flash of purple caught her eye, and she found a stick note taped to the refrigerator.

_Steven, Phoebe and Zo arrive today. Have to go greet 'em. Sleep in all you want. Oh, and Skylar didn't have breakfast yet. -S_

_Skye... _Erin's eyes crinkled as she smiled. _He almost reminds me of Will, a little... _The thought of Will instantly sobered her up, as she got up and started preparing breakfast. _What were you doing here, Will? Why are you still alive? _

_And why, if you are really alive, haven't you contacted me ever since you died?_

A loud yawn interrupted her musings, and she desperately tried to put on a brave face as Skye woke up. "Ahhhhhhhh..." Skye yawned again, and Erin smiled as she found the bread, and slipped in two slices into the toaster. "Wha-"

Skye found himself wrapped in a blanket. He stepped out of it, and saw the back of Erin's head as she busily rummaged through the refrigerator looking for butter. "Thanks," he called out.

"My pleasure," Erin said, and was horrified to realize that her voice was still hoarse from crying. She coughed and tried to cover it up, while Skye frowned. He didn't like hearing her like this.

"Don't mind me," she said softly, while scraping a little bit of butter off of the block, knowing that he could still hear her, and yet make the scratchiness in her voice indiscernible. "Bug in my throat. You know."

"Yeah, _I know_," Skye said, making her jump about a foot when she realized he was right behind her - almost three steps away. "I know that you're not okay," he said softly. She turned around and was captivated by his gray eyes. She looked away.

"Don't creep up on me like that," she said, staring at their feet. "I was holding a knife," she explained lamely, holding up the butter knife she was holding.

"Don't ever try to pretend you're okay, Erin," Skye continued, taking one step closer towards her. "Because it doesn't only hurt the ones who are looking at you, it hurts you even more."

Erin stepped back, the small of her back bumping against the counter. She gulped.

"I saw it... So many times, the pain flashing through your eyes," he said softly, and stepped closer again. "Why can't you just let it all out? There's so much pain in there."

"I... I talk about it," she protested weakly.

"You didn't talk about _all_ of it, didn't you?" Skye persisted.

"Skye..."

"I made the biggest mistake of my life when I decided I didn't need to tell anyone anything about myself. And telling one person isn't enough, Erin," Skye said.

He reached out and cupped her face with his hand; she melted against it, her face fitting perfectly into his palm. "Let me help you shoulder the burden you have," he said softly.

"Uhm, I, uhm... I..." she was becoming a mess in front of him. _Don't tell him, Erin, don't tell him..._ Suddenly she caught a whiff of something. "My... Our toast!" She said, and stepped out of his hands and went to the toaster, her hands shaking.

Skye stayed where he was, listening to the quiet, 'ouch! Ouch!' that came from her as she attempted to get the hot toast with her fingers. She spread a little butter on them, and put both on a plate. She looked at him, holding the plate in her hands. "Uhm... You can have one. I made it for you."

He looked up at her and smiled, and she was so stunned by the beauty of him that she nearly dropped the plate. "Thanks, Erin."

He got the plate from her, and put it on the table, gesturing for her to sit in front of him. She complied, finding his silence a little odd, seeing how he had been going on and on about her needing to open up to someone. Now he was being quiet. Was this a tactic of his or something?

Suddenly he looked up and looked her directly in the eyes. "Erin, I just want to help you."

For some reason, either that or she was just emotionally weak at the time, her heart melted at the words. Tears ran down her face, dripped from her chin, and he reached over to wipe away some of the tears off with his hand. Realizing that it wasn't enough, he got up, and drew her into his arms as she cried, holding her as tight as he possibly could. He waited until she was done crying, and he listened to a soft voice coming from his chest. "_I'm sorry..._" she was whispering. "I never told anyone but he..." she burrowed deeper into his chest. "Will is..."

Skye waited for the continuation.

"_Will is from Team Aqua._"

(*)

**I AM SORRY. GOSH. This is one of those things that I couldn't get off of my brain during my two year absence. It was always, 'oh noooo, people are waiting for updates of this' 'I wonder what Afterpurple would be now?' and etc.**

**So anyway I AM SO SORRY.**

**Hope I made up for it in this pathetic excuse for a chapter.**

**Please look forward to the next chapter. :) I AM going to finish this. My word on it.**

**Ja~**

**P.s I'm in college now! Taking up nursing. I'm also a staff writer of our school publications... School and life is hard in general, but oh well. I have to find time in my sched for this. I HAVE TO. **


End file.
